LISTEN: Joni Mitchell Celebrates 50 Years of BLUE with New 5-Song EP

Rhino is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Joni Mitchell's instantly classic fourth studio album, Blue, with a new collection of previously unreleased material from the recording sessions, Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes). 

All five tunes are standouts, including the demos for "California" and an early version of "A Case Of You" featuring different lyrics from those heard on the final album. There are also two alternate takes on the EP: the first is a version of "River" that adds French horns, unlike the album version, which features Mitchell solo on piano. The other alternate take is for "Urge For Going." Mitchell originally wrote the song in the mid-Sixties and often included in her early live sets. She later revisited the song during the sessions for Blue, recording a version that included strings, that differs from the version that was later released as the b-side to her 1972 hit "You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio." The final unreleased song is the studio recording for "Hunter," another song that was cut from Blue at the last minute that Mitchell later performed live, but never officially released on an album.

All five tracks on Blue 50 can also be found on the forthcoming JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES VOL. 2: THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971), scheduled for release on October 29 as a 5-CD set, as well as a digital release. There will also be an exclusive 10-LP vinyl set available on JoniMitchell.com, limited to just 4,000 copies. All orders on the official Joni Mitchell site come with an exclusive 7" x 7" art print featuring a never-before-seen illustration by Mitchell from the era.

Listen to the new EP below.