Joni Mitchell – Hejira

A midiocre pressing, flat and dull sound.
It's not enough to feel Joni Mitchell's breath and beautiful sessions

Seminal record and a great pressing. Clear and clean, just beautiful.

Joni plus Jaco is soothing.. my copy was in mint condition.. only the gatefold sleeve was damaged due to adhesive of the masking tape..

Jaco Pastorius on the bass. Wow! I did not know that. Weather Report <3

I’m not hearing the raging positive reviews of the sound on this version. Have read reviews elsewhere besides this site. Certainly it’s not unlistenable but to me on my system it’s sounds like it was ripped from an mp3 source. Very compressed and lifeless. A great album no doubt, but this pressing is lacking any punch or dynamics. A big disappointment.

I’m so late to the party on this one. Hejira began playing quite by accident on Spotify. I had never listened to it before, but immediately noticed the most beautiful bass playing, which captivated me for the entire album. Googled to learn it was Jaco Pastorius who supplied this dimension to the recording. Decided I needed it in my collection. It’s so calming with absolutely gorgeous playing from everyone! I don’t have any other pressing to compare with, but this one sounds wonderful. Upon opening, it was flat, quiet, and surprisingly clean for a modern release. I expect I’ll have it in heavy rotation through the winter.

I don’t have a 2014 Bellman cut to compare, but compared to the original (PRC pressing, also master by Grundman), this new cut is much more polished and expansive where the original is more raw, edgy and in your face. Both sound fantastic, but through my system (Starling, X8, Tube Box DS3 B, Line 1, 2x Amp Box RS Mono w/ Power Box RS Amp, DWX Supreme, 3000 Micro) I prefer the more holographic soundstage of this new master. All of the distortion and sibilance in Joni’s vocals from the original are gone, leaving a beautifully round vocal sound that hangs in the middle of the room and mix rather than right in your face. Jaco’s bass might have lost a tiny bit of detail, but it has a weight, depth and expansiveness that gives the whole record and more laid back, plush feel, which might not work for you and your system, but I’m loving it! Bass drums hit in the chest with a presence that was always missing from the original, again lending to the more “in the room” soundstage of this cut. This record will always be one of my favorite pieces of music and through my system, this new master lands it solidly in the “Wow, my system can sound like that?!” category. FIVE STARS for me!!!!!

One of the most beautiful records in my collection. Not only is it sonically perfect, but Joni is at the top of her songwriting game. And her backup band? Carlton, Feldman, Pastorious, Chuck Findley, Tom Scott? Say no more. Perfection.

It looks so beautiful that I was torn about whether to try and send it back; but, philosophically, what makes it damaged is also what makes it special. So I've decided to keep it, in spite of the disastrous crackle in the opening seconds of the album, and artefacts during Amelia; most of the rest of the record sounds fantastic. I've basically decided that for this album I'd like to own this silver vinyl and the black vinyl as well; this is my compromise!!!

Nice cut, but a bit demanding in terms of tracing ability.
FYI this is my test record for sibilance -- "Furry sings the blues", specifically.

A mid-to-lower tier elliptical like Sumiko Pearl will have some spitting.
OM-5e will make everything sound deep fried.
ATVM95ML and higher will sound smooth.