Miles of Aisles is the seventh album by the Canadian Singer Songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1974 on Asylum Records . It was her first live album, a double album documenting her concerts in support of the Court and Spark album with her backing band for the tour, the Tom Scott L.A Express . Recorded March 2nd – 4th and August 14th-17th 1974 The Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles Music Center and Berkeley Community Center.
Joni Mitchell’s first live album arrived at the peak of her fame. Recorded a couple months after her breakthrough Court and Spark debuted, the Canadian singer-songwriter documented the California stops on the tour supporting the new LP. Performing an expansive collection of tracks from her 1968 debut Song to a Seagull onward, Miles of Aisles carefully avoided the hits. “No one ever said to Van Gogh, ‘Paint a “Starry Night” again, man,'” said Mitchell before playing “Circle Game.” In 1991, she made the comparison: “I never wanted to turn into a human jukebox. I haven’t used up all my ideas yet. But I’m working in a pop field, and whether they’re going to allow an older woman to do that is an open question. It requires a loyal, interested audience who believes in my talent.