Joni Mitchell’s album Blue turned 50 this year. It may not have the artistic sophistication of her later albums, but Mitchell’s vulnerability endeared her to fans, if not early critics unused to such intimate storytelling. That was okay with Mitchell. She said her “music is not designed to grab instantly. It’s designed to wear for a lifetime, to hold up like a fine cloth.”

She was right. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Blue the third-greatest album on its 2020 list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” a move up from No. 33 in 2017.

We talk with musicians and critics about the album Blue and more.

GUESTS:

• Peter Kaminsky - Professor of music theory at the University of Connecticut
• Steve Metcalf - Director emeritus of Presidents’ College at the University of Hartford
• Carolann Solebello - Singer-songwriter

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired April 8, 2021.

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