★ ★ ★ ★ ★
With introspective lyrics, complex melodies, and a swooping, lilting, pure voice, Mitchell sings the trials and tribulations of women who love the wrong men in a world that talks a good game of free love but fails to deliver. She meets an old lover in a bar and he picks songs on a jukebox. "Now you're romanticizing some pain that's in your head / You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs you punched are / Dreaming, listen, they sing of love so sweet." Dang. But that voice easily swoops from Dylanesque contempt and vitriol to an easy free come on. Who else might unironically sing "I want to shampoo you"? This album contains multitudes. Favorite tracks: "Carey," "River," "A Case of You."
