Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm
Encyclopedia
Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm is the thirteenth album by Joni Mitchell
, released in 1988. It was her third for Geffen Records
. The album features various duets with guest artists such as Peter Gabriel
on "My Secret Place", Willie Nelson
on "Cool Water", Don Henley
on "Snakes and Ladders", Billy Idol
and Tom Petty
on the track "Dancin' Clown". Henley also performs backing vocals on "Lakota", and Wendy and Lisa
perform backing vocals on "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)".
visited Peter Gabriel's Ashcombe House
recording studio in Bath, England
. Since Gabriel had mostly finished his album "So" by that time, he offered Mitchell and Klein the use of his studio if they wanted to record. They did, and the result was the track "My Secret Place" which was a duet between Mitchell and Gabriel. Mitchell told Musician magazine about this song: "It's a love beginning song. The song's about the threshold of intimacy. It's a shared thing so I wanted it to be like the Song of Soloman, where you can't tell what gender it is. It's the uniting spirit of two people at the beginning of a relationship".
In February 1987, Mitchell saw Billy Idol
performing his song "To Be A Lover" on the Grammy Awards show. She felt he captured the original spirit of rock'n'roll along with a new spark of energy, and would be perfect for a cameo on her song "Dancin' Clown". Idol came over to Mitchell's studio one evening a few days after the Grammys and recorded his part, complete with yelps and howls. Mitchell told Macleans magazine about this pairing up: "It was for the contrast he provided. It's a great little cameo for him, and he brings real life to the part." Later, Tom Petty
recorded his cameo on the same song.
About Chalk Mark, Mitchell told interviewer Kristine McKenna: "I've discovered that with your focus no longer on finding a mate, you get a heightened sense of community, and I've become a bit more political - not too political though".
Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm was released in March 1988, and the song "Snakes and Ladders" (featuring Don Henley
) was issued as a pre-release single to radio stations in January 1988.
original) also discusses water pollution.
War is explored in two very different stories: "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" tells the tale of Mitchell's parents meeting during World War II
after a surprisingly prophetic tea-leaf reading, while "The Beat of Black Wings" is about an embittered Vietnam vet named Killer Kyle, who found it difficult to get the sound of helicopter blades out of his head. This song may be based on a scene from the film adaptation of The Looking Glass War.
In the more straight-forward lovesongs, Mitchell sings of intimacy in "My Secret Place", and young, rambunctious love in "Snakes and Ladders" and "Dancin' Clown".
, got some airplay on VH-1, where it premiered in May 1988.
Billboard magazine's Steve Gett reviewed the new album and awarded it an early rave. Other reviews were mostly very favorable, and the fact that there were cameos by many well-known musicians brought it a great deal of notice. The album improved on the chart position of her previous album, 1985's Dog Eat Dog, peaking at #45 on the Billboard Top Album chart.
To promote the album, Mitchell also travelled to the UK in May and appeared on the Channel 4
music show Wired where she performed "Number One" and gave an exclusive world premiere of a brand new song called "Fourth of July" which would later be retitled "Night Ride Home" and be recorded as the title track for her next album. She also visited Australia and appeared on a several television shows including The Midday Show with Ray Martin, Rock Arena, and the morning show Sunday where she again performed "Number One" and "Fourth of July".
Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female at the 1989 Grammy Awards, but lost to Tracy Chapman
's "Fast Car
".
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, released in 1988. It was her third for Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. The album features various duets with guest artists such as Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
on "My Secret Place", Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
on "Cool Water", Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
on "Snakes and Ladders", Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
and Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
on the track "Dancin' Clown". Henley also performs backing vocals on "Lakota", and Wendy and Lisa
Wendy and Lisa
Wendy & Lisa are a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band The Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing their debut album in 1987...
perform backing vocals on "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)".
History
In early 1986, Mitchell and Larry KleinLarry Klein
Larry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
visited Peter Gabriel's Ashcombe House
Ashcombe House, Somerset
Not to be confused with the Ashcombe House in Wiltshire occupied by Madonna and Guy Ritchie.Ashcombe House at Swainswick, north-east of Bath in Somerset, England is a Gothic revival country house. It is a Grade II listed building....
recording studio in Bath, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Since Gabriel had mostly finished his album "So" by that time, he offered Mitchell and Klein the use of his studio if they wanted to record. They did, and the result was the track "My Secret Place" which was a duet between Mitchell and Gabriel. Mitchell told Musician magazine about this song: "It's a love beginning song. The song's about the threshold of intimacy. It's a shared thing so I wanted it to be like the Song of Soloman, where you can't tell what gender it is. It's the uniting spirit of two people at the beginning of a relationship".
In February 1987, Mitchell saw Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
performing his song "To Be A Lover" on the Grammy Awards show. She felt he captured the original spirit of rock'n'roll along with a new spark of energy, and would be perfect for a cameo on her song "Dancin' Clown". Idol came over to Mitchell's studio one evening a few days after the Grammys and recorded his part, complete with yelps and howls. Mitchell told Macleans magazine about this pairing up: "It was for the contrast he provided. It's a great little cameo for him, and he brings real life to the part." Later, Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
recorded his cameo on the same song.
About Chalk Mark, Mitchell told interviewer Kristine McKenna: "I've discovered that with your focus no longer on finding a mate, you get a heightened sense of community, and I've become a bit more political - not too political though".
Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm was released in March 1988, and the song "Snakes and Ladders" (featuring Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
) was issued as a pre-release single to radio stations in January 1988.
Themes
Contemporary commercialism is addressed in the songs "Number One", "Lakota" which deals with the destruction of Native American culture and the unusual "The Reoccuring Dream" was constructed from samples Mitchell collected by recording TV commercials on her VCR for 2 weeks. "Cool Water" (a Mitchell rewrite of the Bob NolanBob Nolan
Bob Nolan was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and composer of numerous Country music and Western music songs, including the standards "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." He is generally regarded as one of the...
original) also discusses water pollution.
War is explored in two very different stories: "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" tells the tale of Mitchell's parents meeting during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
after a surprisingly prophetic tea-leaf reading, while "The Beat of Black Wings" is about an embittered Vietnam vet named Killer Kyle, who found it difficult to get the sound of helicopter blades out of his head. This song may be based on a scene from the film adaptation of The Looking Glass War.
In the more straight-forward lovesongs, Mitchell sings of intimacy in "My Secret Place", and young, rambunctious love in "Snakes and Ladders" and "Dancin' Clown".
Release
The first official single from the album was "My Secret Place". It was released in March 1988 and "bubbled under" for a few weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The video, shot on grainy, atmospheric black & white film featuring Mitchell and Peter GabrielPeter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, got some airplay on VH-1, where it premiered in May 1988.
Billboard magazine's Steve Gett reviewed the new album and awarded it an early rave. Other reviews were mostly very favorable, and the fact that there were cameos by many well-known musicians brought it a great deal of notice. The album improved on the chart position of her previous album, 1985's Dog Eat Dog, peaking at #45 on the Billboard Top Album chart.
To promote the album, Mitchell also travelled to the UK in May and appeared on the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
music show Wired where she performed "Number One" and gave an exclusive world premiere of a brand new song called "Fourth of July" which would later be retitled "Night Ride Home" and be recorded as the title track for her next album. She also visited Australia and appeared on a several television shows including The Midday Show with Ray Martin, Rock Arena, and the morning show Sunday where she again performed "Number One" and "Fourth of July".
Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female at the 1989 Grammy Awards, but lost to Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
's "Fast Car
Fast Car
"Fast Car" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released as a single in April 1988 from her self-titled 1988 debut album Tracy Chapman...
".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Joni Mitchell; except where indicated- "My Secret Place" – 5:01
- "Number One" – 3:46
- "Lakota" – 6:25 (Mitchell, Larry KleinLarry KleinLarry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
) - "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" – 4:49 (Mitchell, Larry Klein)
- "Dancin' Clown" – 4:09
- "Cool WaterCool Water"Cool Water" is a song written in 1936 by Bob Nolan. It is about a man and his mule, Dan, and a mirage in the desert.-Original version:The best-selling recorded version was done by Vaughn Monroe and The Sons of the Pioneers in 1948. The recording was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number...
" – 5:25 (Mitchell, Bob NolanBob NolanBob Nolan was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and composer of numerous Country music and Western music songs, including the standards "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." He is generally regarded as one of the...
) - "The Beat of Black Wings" – 5:19
- "Snakes and Ladders" – 5:37 (Mitchell, Larry Klein)
- "The Reoccurring Dream" – 3:02 (Mitchell, Larry Klein)
- "A Bird That Whistles (Corrina, Corrina)" – 2:38
Personnel
- Joni Mitchell - vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum programming on 7,8
- Manu KatchéManu KatchéManu Katché is a French musician of Ivorian origin, born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on 27 October 1958. He is a drummer and songwriter.-Career:Session musician...
- drums, percussion, talking drum on 1,7; snare drum on 2; background vocals - Steven Lindsey - organ on 2
- Larry KleinLarry KleinLarry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
- bass; keyboards on 1,3,4,8; congas on 6; programming; background vocals on 5 - Michael LandauMichael LandauMichael Landau is a prolific session musician and guitarist who has played on a large number of albums since the early 1980s with artists as varied as Seal, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis...
- guitar on 3,4,5,6,8,9; background vocals on 5 - Steve StevensSteve StevensSteve Stevens is an American guitarist and songwriter.He is best known for playing for other artists and less known for his critically acclaimed solo efforts , collaborations Steve Stevens (born as Steven Schneider on May 5, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and songwriter.He...
- lead guitar on 5 - Wayne ShorterWayne ShorterWayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
- saxophones on 10 - Thomas DolbyThomas DolbyThomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
- marimba on 5 - Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
- guest vocalist on 1 - Benjamin OrrBenjamin OrrBenjamin Orr was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston based rock band, The Cars....
- background vocals on 2,7 - Don HenleyDon HenleyDonald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
- background vocals on 3,8 - Iron Eyes CodyIron Eyes CodyIron Eyes Cody was an American actor. He frequently portrayed American Indians in Hollywood films. In 1995, Cody was honored by the American Indian community for his work publicizing the plight of Native Americans, including his acting in films...
- guest vocalist on 3 - Wendy MelvoinWendy MelvoinWendy Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa....
- background vocals on 4 - Lisa ColemanLisa Coleman (musician)Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...
- background vocals on 4 - Billy IdolBilly IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
- guest vocalist on 5 - Tom PettyTom PettyThomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
- guest vocalist on 5 - Julie Last - background vocals on 5
- Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
- guest vocalist on 6