Tourists visiting the Caribbean during the summer of 1981 might have spotted something unexpected: Joni Mitchell in the thick of things at a disco, grooving up a storm to the Police’s inscrutable hit De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da. “I love to dance, and anytime I heard it, boy, I didn’t care if there was no one on the floor,” she told Musician in 1983. “I was going to dance to that thing because of those changes in rhythm.” Mitchell’s appreciation for the Police’s worldly rhythmic approach would influence the direction of her 1982 album Wild Things Run Fast. Surprisingly, the “supersonic sheen” of corporate rock radio gods Journey also inspired the sound, Mitchell admitted to Musician. “You might think they’re antiseptic … but when they come on the radio, they have a sound that’s outstanding.”
It’s safe to say Wild Things Run Fast was no Escape, although the album was one of Mitchell’s most rock-oriented releases to date. The title track feels like a lost Police A-side, while other songs incorporate scorching riffs, vivacious drums and sharp lyrics: “You could charm the diamonds / Off a rattlesnake,” she sings on Ladies’ Man. The album was one of her least popular yet.
