aaamusic | On 01, Apr 2012

WILL YOU TAKE ME AS I AM
Joni Mitchell’s Blue Period

“[Mercer] addresses nuances of Mitchell’s art that have not been adequately recognized, but does not lionize her. Rather, Mitchell is revealed as a complicated woman for whom being widely liked is both anathema and a great need.” – Los Angeles Times

Joni Mitchell is one of the most celebrated artists of the last half-century, and her landmark album, Blue, is one of her most beloved and revered works. Generations of fans have come of age listening to it, inspired by the way it clarified their difficult emotions, while critics and musicians admire the idiosyncratic virtuosity of its compositions.

In Will You Take Me as I Am Michelle Mercer looks at Blue to explore the development of an extraordinary artist, the history of songwriting, and much more.

Will You Take Me as I Am is the first book about Mitchell to include original interviews with her. In those extensive conversations, Mercer heard first-hand about Mitchell’s internal and external journeys as she composed the largely autobiographical albums of what Mercer calls Mitchell’s Blue Period, which lasted through the mid-1970s.

DownBeat Magazine wrote, “Michelle Mercer forgoes another soup-to-nuts survey in favor of a more satisfying approach.” By incorporating biography, memoir, reportage, criticism, and interviews into an illuminating narrative, she moves beyond the “making of an album” genre to arrive at a new form of music writing.

Will You Take Me as I Am paints a unique portrait of a great musician and her remarkable work and offers new perspectives on the art of songwriting itself.

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Also available this month from BACKBEAT BOOKS:

WAY DOWN: PLAYING BASS WITH ELVIS, DYLAN, THE DOORS & MORE
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JERRY SCHEFF

From the pen of Scheff himself, the bass player’s memoirs take the reader through the biggest names in rock.

HEARTS OF DARKNESS
JAMES TAYLOR, JACKSON BROWNE, CAT STEVENS AND THE UNLIKELY RISE OF THE SINGER SONGWRITER

Dave Thompson (Mojo, Record Collector etc) dissects the huge impact that earnest singers and acoustic guitars and pianos had on the early ’70s.