The last thing Joni Mitchell’s songs need is a polite tribute album.

Joni Reimagined began almost by accident during lockdown, when Stefan Redtenbacher, Ross Stanley and Mike Sturgis recorded an instrumental version of A Case of You for the Masterlink Sessions. That recording led to a version with Jo Harman – and then to a much bigger question: what might happen if a group of distinctive singers and musicians were invited to choose the Joni Mitchell songs that meant something to them?

The result is this 11-track album.

LISTEN TO JONI REIMAGINED

Rather than trying to reproduce Joni’s recordings, Redtenbacher’s Funkestra created new arrangements around the individual voices of Rumer, Hamish Stuart, Jo Harman, Sarah Jane Morris, Mim Grey, Mike Mayfield and Jana Varga. Each arrives with a different relationship to the material, from the intimacy of A Case of You and Little Green to the open road of Amelia, the darker corners of Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow and the extraordinary emotional balancing act of Both Sides Now.

The sessions were approached in the spirit in which the Funkestra works best: exceptional musicians in a room together, listening, reacting and leaving enough space for the songs themselves to remain at the centre.

It is not Joni Mitchell made funkier for the sake of it. Nor is it an exercise in reverence. Joni Reimagined is our attempt to meet some remarkable songs on their own terms, while allowing the musicians and singers involved to bring something genuinely personal to them.

As JoniMitchell.com put it:

“This collection of interpretations is REALLY! good folks, and well worth your time for a listen.”

Artwork by renowned English illustrator Mark Wilkinson.

TRACKLISTING

  1. A Case of You — ft. Jo Harman

  2. Amelia — ft. Rumer

  3. Both Sides Now — ft. Mike Mayfield

  4. Two Grey Rooms — ft. Mim Grey

  5. Free Man in Paris — ft. Jana Varga

  6. Little Green — ft. Sarah Jane Morris

  7. Circle Game — ft. Hamish Stuart

  8. Night Ride Home — ft. Mim Grey

  9. Blue — ft. Jo Harman

  10. Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow — ft. Rumer

  11. River — ft. Mike Mayfield

WATCH THE SESSIONS

Almost every song on Joni Reimagined was also filmed during the sessions. Watch the complete Joni Reimagined video playlist on YouTube HERE.

MORE INFO

Read what the people say HERE and what the media says HERE.