Joni, as timely as ever

Once again your exquisite critic Ann Powers has written an article that is as deep and introspective as the artist she is ruminating on [“Mitchell, at Home and in Homage,” Sept. 23]. In her dual review of Joni Mitchell’s gorgeous new CD, “Shine,” and Herbie Hancock’s “River: The Joni Letters,” Powers peers beneath the work at hand to say something thought-provoking about two similar artists.

As Powers states, Joni Mitchell in her astonishing and unique career has been able to “stand fairly still, observing” and Joni’s uncanny observations are the poetic soundtrack for the lives of us all. Mitchell is a painter literally and a painter of words. Her lyrics have more than stood the test of time. You cannot sit around a campfire with a gaggle of children and an out-of-tune guitar singing “The Circle Game” without knowing that the world is profoundly and movingly one.

Count me one of the many fans who is thrilled that Mitchell has come out of retirement with her passion, soul and fire intact. We have never needed Joni Mitchell looking at life through both sides now more than we do right now.

Tom O’Leary

Los Angeles