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As Winston Churchill famously said, "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key." The key to the mysterious boxed set seems to be Joni herself. In an interview with the Vancouver Sun published today, Joni says "I was trying to put together a box set, which I think I'm going to abort, I don't know that I'm going to do it or not. I don't like listening back, no I don't." So there we have it, not a definite no but pretty darn close.
 

On Friday evening, March 17, 1967, Ed Sciaky went to the 2nd Fret (operated by Manny "Money" Rubin) in downtown Philadelphia (on Sansom Street) and recorded an interview with Joni Mitchell. Recorded between sets, this recording was mastered at 7 and a half IPS on Shamrock recording tape, a cheap brand of audio tape but all that college student Ed Sciaky could afford. It was recorded on an Amex 354 mono tape recorder with an RCA 44 microphone. Ed Sciaky spoke into one side of the mic and Joni into the other. Since Joni spoke softly, her level was lower than Ed. The interview was engineered by Mike Biel, a student executive at the station at that time.

The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia (of which Ed is now a member), an organization of 350 area broadcasters, has recently equalized and adjusted the levels of the interview and the complete audio interview is now available on their website. They are proud to make this priceless interview again available to the public. The entire interview has not been heard since it was aired the next evening, Saturday, March 18th on Ed's folk music show called "Broadside," which was broadcast Saturday evenings from 8 pm and 12 midnight over WRTI-FM, the campus radio station of Temple University in Philadelphia. The 1974 airing over WMMR was an excerpt.
 

In January 2010, NPR will launch a year-long exploration of 50 great voices in recorded history. The series isn't an attempt to catalog the so-called "greatest" singers. Instead, they hope to discover and re-discover awe-inspiring vocalists from around the world and across time. Earlier, NPR asked the public to nominate artists for the series and received thousands of options. NPR and a panel of experts are in the process of whittling them down to about 100 singers - a mix of familiar names and surprising discoveries. Currently, down to around 130 singers, Joni is still in the running! Let's help Joni get recognized as one of the 50 great voices. Cast your vote!

Also, the word from the man on the street is that Reprise has begun handling the new releases from Rhino. There was some concern about Rhino's health and it appears now that there still may be hope for the release of Joni's boxed set what with Reprise stepping in. Sorry for the mere speculation, but the status of this set seems to be the most closely guarded secret since the appointment of the pope. Thanks to Greg for the tip.
 

Joni's birthday is November 7th. Wish her a Happy Birthday here. There is no guarantee that she'll see it, but one never knows!
 

Alberta Ballet performs Joni's The Fiddle and The Drum at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington.
 

Alberta Ballet performs Joni's The Fiddle and The Drum at the Barclay Theater in Irvine, California.
 

Alberta Ballet performs Joni's The Fiddle and The Drum at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. February 26 and 27.
 

Saturday, March 6; Joni Mitchell Tribute at Hugh's Room in Toronto, hosted by Mia Sheard. Featuring Lily Frost, Wilderness of Manitoba, Leah Salomaa, Paisley Jura & Nick Zubeck. Band: Joan Besen, Ryan Granville-Martin, Chris Gartner, Colleen Allen & Kurt Swinghammer. $22 in advance or $25 at the door.