Joni Mitchell’s ex talks heartache as her masterpiece ‘Blue’ turns 50

With the confessional honesty that Joni Mitchell displayed on her classic “Blue” album — which was released 50 years ago on June 22, 1971 — perhaps a more apt title would have been “True.”

“A lot of people think she bares her soul, but I think she scrapes her soul,” said Lori Majewski, co-host of “Feedback” on SiriusXM’s Volume channel. “The confessional nature of ‘Blue’ is such that I think Joni Mitchell herself actually likened it to Dylan plugging in, to Dylan going electric. It was such a groundbreaking thing to be this confessional.” Indeed, Mitchell’s fourth studio LP — which Rolling Stone ranked at No. 3 on last year’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time — upped the gut-spilling ante for both female and male singer-songwriters. “It made a lot of singer-songwriters — especially male singer-songwriters — very nervous that they were going to have to lay it all out on the table the way Joni had,” said Majewski. “I think that the men, they were singing about the times, they were singing about the moment, but they were looking outward. When you go inward, there’s a bravery — and Joni did that with a magnifying glass.”