Wild Things Run Fast
Encyclopedia
Wild Things Run Fast is Joni Mitchell
's eleventh studio album and her first for Geffen Records
. Released in 1982, it represents her departure from jazz
to a more 80s pop
sound.
The resulting world tour took Mitchell through the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. A video of the tour was released in 1983, entitled Refuge of the Roads. The recorded performances were not live but recorded in a studio once the tour had been completed, with applause dubbed-in in post production. There was also some Super 8 footage taken by Mitchell on the road. It has since been released on DVD.
Mitchell claimed that her inspiration for the album came from hearing the music of popular bands such as Steely Dan
, Talking Heads
and The Police
at a discothèque during a trip to the Caribbean
in 1981. She said that hearing The Police, especially, affected her sound, saying, "their rhythmic hybrids, and the positioning of the drums, and the sound of the drums, was one of the main calls out to me to make a more rhythmic album".
" contain the lines "Your kids are coming up straight / My child's a stranger / I bore her / But I could not raise her" which actually refers to her own daughter that she gave up for adoption.
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...
's eleventh studio album and her first 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:...
. Released in 1982, it represents her departure from jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
to a more 80s pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
sound.
The resulting world tour took Mitchell through the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. A video of the tour was released in 1983, entitled Refuge of the Roads. The recorded performances were not live but recorded in a studio once the tour had been completed, with applause dubbed-in in post production. There was also some Super 8 footage taken by Mitchell on the road. It has since been released on DVD.
Mitchell claimed that her inspiration for the album came from hearing the music of popular bands such as Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
and The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
at a discothèque during a trip to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
in 1981. She said that hearing The Police, especially, affected her sound, saying, "their rhythmic hybrids, and the positioning of the drums, and the sound of the drums, was one of the main calls out to me to make a more rhythmic album".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Joni Mitchell; except where indicated- "Chinese Café/Unchained MelodyUnchained Melody"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
" – 5:17 (Mitchell, Alex NorthAlex NorthAlex North was an American composer who wrote the first jazz-based film score and one of the first modernist scores written in Hollywood ....
, Hy ZaretHy ZaretHy Zaret was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer best known as the co-author of the 1955 hit "Unchained Melody", one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.-Biography:...
) - "Wild Things Run Fast" – 2:12
- "Ladies' Man" – 2:37
- "Moon at the Window" – 3:42
- "Solid Love" – 2:57
- "Be Cool" – 4:12
- "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" Baby I Don't Care" is a song written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has become a minor pop standard, with notable versions being performed by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. Elvis Presley's version was released on his Jailhouse Rock EP, and reached number fourteen on the R&B charts...
" – 2:36 (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - "You Dream Flat Tires" – 2:50
- "Man to Man" – 3:42
- "Underneath the Streetlight" – 2:14
- "Love" – 3:46
Personnel
- Joni Mitchell - vocals; acoustic guitar on 3,5,9,10,11; electric guitar on 4,6,8; piano on 1; electric piano on 10
- 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 - 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...
- electric guitar on 5,7,8,10 - Steve LukatherSteve LukatherSteve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
- electric guitar on 1,2,9,11 - John GuerinJohn GuerinJohn Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
- drums on 1,4,6,9 - Vinnie ColaiutaVinnie ColaiutaVincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
- drums on 2,3,5,7,8,10,11 - Larry Williams - Prophet synthesizer on 1,2; tenor saxophone on 3,7
- Russell Ferrante - Oberheim synthesizer on 4,6,9
- 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...
- soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
on 4,6,11 - Larry CarltonLarry CarltonLarry Carlton is an American jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, pop, and rock guitarist and singer. He has divided his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with various well-known bands...
- guitar on 3 - Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
- percussion on 9 - Kim Hutchcroft - baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
on 7 - Lionel RichieLionel RichieLionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
- backing vocals on 3,8 - Charles Valentino, Howard Kinney - backing vocals on 3
- James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Joni Mitchell - backing vocals on 9 - John GuerinJohn GuerinJohn Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
, Joni Mitchell, Kenny Rankin, Robert De La Garza, Skip Cottrell - whisper chorus on 6
Trivia
"Chinese Café/Unchained MelodyUnchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
" contain the lines "Your kids are coming up straight / My child's a stranger / I bore her / But I could not raise her" which actually refers to her own daughter that she gave up for adoption.