Though the Top 40 hits Help Me and Free Man in Paris are worth the price of this CD, Court and Spark, as a whole, is a great arrangement of tunes released during what is perhaps the Golden Age of Songwriting.
Not your typical folk Joni Mitchell material, this is essentially her jazz phase release; some might say that it is her signature piece. I would not dare go that far, but it is not surprising that it was her biggest chart success, because it blends so well with the music of the other great artists of the time, namely Carly Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, etc. Idealistic and sometimes poignant, Court and Spark is a reflection of the thoughts and perspectives of a woman who was quite mature for one in her early thirties. If only there were more Joni Mitchell's around, for many genres of music need that added "court and spark".