A big chunk of the pop audience
Joni Mitchell
had earned with
Court and Spark
in 1974 deserted her in 1975 and 1976 when the follow-ups,
The Hissing of Summer Lawns
and
Hejira
, proved more difficult works. With this pretentious double album,
Mitchell
lost many of the loyal fans who'd stuck with her from the beginning but who now, as she spread her obscure poetic observations and thin melodies across whole sides of the album, found her disengaged from the close, personal observations that filled her best songs. This was
's last album to go gold. ~ William Ruhlmann