Both Sides Now (song)

Infobox Single
Name =Both Sides Now


Cover size =
Caption =
Artist =Judy Collins
Album =
A-side =
B-side =Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Released =1968
Format =7" single
Recorded =
Genre =
Length =
Label =
Writer =Joni Mitchell
Producer =
Certification =
Last single =
This single =
Next single =
Misc ="Both Sides Now" is a song by Joni Mitchell. Her recording first appeared on the album "Clouds", released in 1969 and later on the album of the same name.

It is one of Joni Mitchell's best known songs (with "Big Yellow Taxi", "Woodstock" and "A Case of You"). It was written in March 1967, inspired by a passage in "Henderson the Rain King" by Saul Bellow. [ [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-96/12-07-96/b01ae065.htm NewStandard: 12/7/96 ] ]

Judy Collins made the first commercially released recording of the song in 1968 (shortly after Mitchell wrote it); Collins' version reached #8 on the U.S. pop singles charts and won a 1968 Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance. The record peaked at #3 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. Fairport Convention recorded the song as a demo in 1967. The band's recording did not become available until 2000, however, when it appeared on "The Guv'nor Vol 4" by Ashley Hutchings.

"Rolling Stone" ranked "Both Sides Now" #170 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Cover versions

Infobox Single
Name = Both Sides Now


Artist = Clannad & Paul Young
from Album =
Released = 1991
Recorded = Windmill Studios, Dublin, Ireland
Genre = Pop rock
Length = 3:09
Label = BMG
Writer = Joni Mitchell
Producer = Steve Nye
Last single = "The Hunter"
This single = "Both Sides Now"
Next single = "I Will Find You"

Mitchell's friend Dave Van Ronk covered the song on his album "Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters", entitling the song "Clouds." Mitchell often said that this rendition of her song was the finest ever.

Bing Crosby provided a quintessential version of the song on the "Hollywood Palace" and captures the true emotion of the song in a simplistic and lovely fashion. The live "Hollywood Palace" version is much better than the commercial recording he made on the "Hey Jude/Hey Bing" LP.

Frank Sinatra recorded the song under the title "From Both Sides, Now" for his 1968 album "Cycles" (this was Sinatra's poorly-received attempt at a more "young" and contemporary (for the late 1960s) sound than his usual jazz-flavoured Great American Songbook repertoire).

Michael Feinstein covered the song for the 1990 compilation "Rubáiyát".

In 1991, the song was covered by Hole on their album "Pretty On The Inside", under the name "Clouds."

It was also a minor hit in the UK and Canada for the Irish band Clannad in a duet with British singer Paul Young, recorded for the motion picture "Switch". It was the only chart appearance for Clannad in the Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart.

A cover of this song by the band Dengue Fever appeared on the soundtrack of the 2002 movie "City of Ghosts".

Both the 2000 album "Both Sides Now" and the song are featured in the 2003 movie "Love Actually".

Neil Diamond, Anne Murray, Glen Campbell, Engelbert Humperdinck, Leonard Nimoy, Jason Falkner, Catherine MacKinnon, Claudine Longet and Robert Goulet have recorded covers of this song as well.

Dolly Parton covered "Both Sides Now" on her 2005 album, "Those Were The Days". Parton's version featured vocals by Judy Collins, who, as noted, first recorded the song.

Hayley Westenra also recorded this song in 2005, on her album "Odyssey".

A French version of the song, with adapted lyrics by Eddy Marnay, was recorded by Marie Laforêt in 1968 under the title "Je n'ai rien appris."

Davy Graham recorded a version on his 1969 album "Large As Life But Twice As Natural". His version included a long Middle Eastern-style introduction.

A version by Doris Day, originally recorded on a television special in 1971, was incorporated in the 2006 reissue of her album "The Love Album."

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performed an instrumental version on their 1972 album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".

A solo version by jazz guitarist Pat Martino was included on his 1974 album "Consciousness".

Pete Seeger did a cover on his LP of songs for children and elderly called "Young vs. Old". Seeger added a more optimistic fourth verse to the song. The new lyrics are in Seeger's book "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" in the chapter "New Words?"

Swedish singer Håkan Hellström did a cover in Swedish. His version is called "Båda Sidor Nu."

Jazz musician Herbie Hancock and his band performed the song on the 2007 album . Hancock's work on the song was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Solo.

Dianne Reeves covered "Both Sides Now" on her album, "Quiet Before the Storm" (1994).

Tina Arena recorded the song for her 2008 album "Songs of Love & Loss II".

Allison Moorer in 2008 Album "Mockinbird".

Kyle Rose and Teale Poirier for 07/08 Woodstock Collegiate Institute CD.

References