Legendary folk singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is gearing up to release Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4 (The Asylum Years - 1976-1980).

This will be, as the name suggests, the fourth release in a series of archival boxsets that Mitchell has been releasing since 2020. Each boxset takes a myriad of live recordings, demos, alternate takes, and b-sides from various eras of her career. Vol. 4 covers "the Asylum Years", spanning from 1976-1980. During this time, Mitchell released the albums Hejira, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Mingus, and Shadows and Light.

Listen to a live recording of Hejira favorite "Coyote", from Montreal in 1975:

Vol. 4 spans a whopping 98 tracks, and includes many live cuts from concerts in Boston, Montreal, Berkeley, and more. It also has a whole "Hejira demos" section, with early takes on tracks such as "Amelia" and "Blue Motel Room".

The Vol. 4 boxset - as with the other archival compilations Mitchell has released - comes with four LPs, extensive exclusive liner notes, never-before-seen photos, and an interview between Mitchell and her longtime friend filmmaker Cameron Crowe. (The CD version comes with 6 CDs, and it will also be released digitally.)

Mitchell has also recently released a boxset of remastered versions of each of the albums released during this time, which came out in June.

Most recently, Mitchell has been making a surprising return to music after suffering a debilitating brain aneurysm in 2015. With the support of many musicians (including Brandi Carlile, a longtime champion and devotee of Mitchell's work), Mitchell made a surprise comeback at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival, of which there is also a live album. Since then, she has done a few other concerts with many illustrious guests, and performed at the Grammys this year.

Joni Mitchell Archives: Vol. 4 (The Asylum Years 1976-1980) is out October 4 via Rhino. You can find out more and order a copy here.