Rating: 
Summary: What a Disappointment!
Review: Having followed and loved Joni Mitchell's work up to (and including) "For the Roses," I expected great things from this disc, especially in DTS. From the first line of "Big Yellow Taxi" it was obvious that Joni Mitchell has blown out her voice with years of smoking (the cover even shows her with a cigarette in her hand). There were only two or three of her early songs (and they were performed poorly). All the other songs sounded alike and bored me to tears. Even in DTS 5.1, the sound was distant and thin. This was a real disappointment. Try Roy Orbison's "Black and White Night" (includes AC-3 AND DTS) for a involving performance with a stunning and truly surrounding sound field - the room literally comes alive! Check out the difference between the two sound tracks if you can. The AC-3 is very exciting, but the DTS is a little fuller and much sweeter.
Rating: 
Summary: Great music ---good camera work ----disappointing sound!
Review: Hopefully this DVD can be remixed and reissued! The guitar dominated watery/echoey "mono" sounding surround sound mix(no better in 2 channel stereo), gives no presence to individual instruments. Mr.Blade suffers the most, his contribution being that of a great instrumental mime!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I thought the sound was great - it was crisp and dynamic with wonderful use of stereo mixing. The video is soft and sometimes oversaturated from the lighting on certain songs, but I backed off the color saturation on my TV and it looks great now. Perhaps it depends on what type of equipment you are using. As for content - a wonderful performance with great musicians, uniquely presented, giving a warm and relaxing feel to this intimate show. Joni does an wonderful job.
Rating:
Summary: This is exactly what you hope it is.
Review: I've bought concert films before and am almost always distracted by a number of problems. For one, the camera never seems to be where you want it to be. Whenever something really interesting is happening musically, the camera is on the wrong musician. And the video and audio are never quite in sync. JONI MITCHELL: PAINTING WITH WORDS AND MUSIC is everything you wish for in a concert film: a great performance by a great artist, perfectly edited, sonically superb. And with Joni's new instrument and band, she sounds better than ever. I actually like this better than her 1980 film, SHADOWS AND LIGHT.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Muddy
Review: If you're expecting a clear DVD sound, skip this one. Joni Mitchell is the queen of clear vocals and acoustic guitar but this DVD was anything but. The sounds were muddy and even had a great deal of vocal distortion throughout. If after this review you still must have it, wait for people like me who sell theirs, you'll get it for a song.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Overall - Audio level is a bummer.....
Review: Joni continues to be an American Music icon. With her roots clearly in the folk genre, she has successfully blended Jazz and Rock into her own unique canadian tapestry of textures, feelings and melodies. If you're looking for tunes to hum on the bus, you're not likely to find that here. If you are however brave enough and evolved enough to 'go on the journey,' please sign up immediately. A magical evening awaits you complete with overstuffed couches to enhance the audience experience and add to the overall ambience of the concert/DVD. My huge dissappointment with the finished product is the quality of the sound and the totally unacceptable low level of audio coming off the disk. In many cases, it's barely enough to trigger my sub- woofer. Doesn't somebody check these things BEFORE they go to master. What gives?
Rating:
Summary: A Treat for fans of Folk/Rock, Jazz & R&B
Review: Joni Mitchell and her band of first-class musicians (of course) offer a wonderful, wide-ranging song cycle in Painting With Words & Music, a special concert filmed in a colorful, intimate setting. Some of her old favorites are included (Big Yellow Taxi, complete with a take-off on Janet Jackson's take-off), Black Crow (a stunning jazz-rocker) and Woodstock. But there are other song styles here, handled with equal skill (and exhuberant joy): the Billie Holiday smoker Comes Love (inadvertently titled Nothing Can Be Done in the VHS liner notes) and Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man. The musical delights are complemented by some charming stage patter and one very long, very funny story about Mitchell's long-ago encounter with a wise-cracking but endearing tourist at a remote Canadian lodge. As for the voice: truth be told, it was not in peak form during this performance (this was filmed just one week after the end of the Dylan/Mitchell/Morrison tour, during which she was ill much of the time -- she sounded much better during the 2000 Both Sides Now tour). But you will hear a high note a la the old days here and there, and she certainly gets credit for energetic delivery (especially on the R&B tunes). As for the technical complaints some have registered: unless you're a professional audio engineer or a nerdy techno-phile, you probably won't even notice the problems (if there are any). All things considered, it's a pleasure to view this special recording by the indisputably talented and intriguing Joni Mitchell.
Rating:
Summary: A Treat for fans of Folk/Rock, Jazz & R&B
Review: Joni Mitchell and her band of first-class musicians (of course) offer a wonderful, wide-ranging song cycle in Painting With Words & Music, a special concert filmed in a colorful, intimate setting. Some of her old favorites are included (Big Yellow Taxi, complete with a take-off on Janet Jackson's take-off), Black Crow (a stunning jazz-rocker) and Woodstock. But there are other song styles here, handled with equal skill (and exhuberant joy): the Billie Holiday smoker Comes Love (inadvertently titled Nothing Can Be Done in the VHS liner notes) and Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man. The musical delights are complemented by some charming stage patter and one very long, very funny story about Mitchell's long-ago encounter with a wise-cracking but endearing tourist at a remote Canadian lodge. As for the voice: truth be told, it was not in peak form during this performance (this was filmed just one week after the end of the Dylan/Mitchell/Morrison tour, during which she was ill much of the time -- she sounded much better during the 2000 Both Sides Now tour). But you will hear a high note a la the old days here and there, and she certainly gets credit for energetic delivery (especially on the R&B tunes). As for the technical complaints some have registered: unless you're a professional audio engineer or a nerdy techno-phile, you probably won't even notice the problems (if there are any). All things considered, it's a pleasure to view this special recording by the indisputably talented and intriguing Joni Mitchell.
Rating:
Summary: A highly evolved artist
Review: Joni Mitchell is a counterweight to Grace Slick. They both started out singing for what they thought was a revolution. When they found out they were wrong, when the revolution melted down into disco, cocaine and "greed is good," they had to go on somehow. Grace went on by letting the beautiful and wonderful Jefferson Airplane become "Starship," a mindless, schlock-rock money printing machine that fed her and some other people during the 80's. Joni put on her walking sandals, shed a tear for all that was Woodstock, then put the revolution in her pocket and kept going.This DVD is the culmination of that journey so far, and it showcases her beautiful music, her heart-wrenching lyrics and her skills as a painter. Anyone who loved her in the 60's will be thrilled to see the beautifully mature musician, artist and woman she's become since, and anyone who isn't familiar with her, will be in for a pleasant surprise. You'll be richer by far spending a little money on this DVD. And Grace, it isn't too late. I'm guessing that Peace and Love are due for a comeback any time now, and I'm pretty sure that we who are trying to make that happen all miss you and wish you were here. :-)
Rating:
Summary: A highly evolved artist
Review: Joni Mitchell is a counterweight to Grace Slick. They both started out singing for what they thought was a revolution. When they found out they were wrong, when the revolution melted down into disco, cocaine and "greed is good," they had to go on somehow. Grace went on by letting the beautiful and wonderful Jefferson Airplane become "Starship," a mindless, schlock-rock money printing machine that fed her and some other people during the 80's. Joni put on her walking sandals, shed a tear for all that was Woodstock, then put the revolution in her pocket and kept going. This DVD is the culmination of that journey so far, and it showcases her beautiful music, her heart-wrenching lyrics and her skills as a painter. Anyone who loved her in the 60's will be thrilled to see the beautifully mature musician, artist and woman she's become since, and anyone who isn't familiar with her, will be in for a pleasant surprise. You'll be richer by far spending a little money on this DVD. And Grace, it isn't too late. I'm guessing that Peace and Love are due for a comeback any time now, and I'm pretty sure that we who are trying to make that happen all miss you and wish you were here. :-)
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