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This 1976 classic is one of my all-time favorites. Joni’s long, hip history is marked by several notable periods, from the early “flower-child” years to the excellent, jazzy middle years to the “still talented but relatively uninspired” senior years. Not surprisingly, Hejira (Arabic for journey) is one of those jazz-infused, mid-career highpoints. And as the name implies, this album is, indeed, a personal flight -- every song tells the story of people and places along the open road. Unique characters like flakes and hustlers and dreamers and temporary lovers…all woven into clear, imaginative and perfectly articulated word pictures. And such grand music for those cool lyrics. Joni, who never met a tortured bassist she didn’t love, hits the jackpot on Hejira with one particularly superb musician collaborator - the late Jaco Pastorious. His bass playing on this album is like nothing you’ve ever heard. From the first opened-tuned chords of "Coyote" to the last verse of the long & satisfying "Refuge of the Roads", Hejira is just awesome.
Hejira contains probably the only anthem in rock music about aviator Amelia Earhart and, for pure triviality, the only known reference to Winn-Dixie (where Southerners buy groceries). GD