Joni Mitchell announces new live album in rare interview with Elton John

The singer will release a recording of her recent appearance at Newport Folk festival, her first full performance in 20 years

Joni Mitchell has announced a new live album of her recent surprise Newport Folk festival performance. Speaking to Elton John on his Apple Music radio show Rocket Hour in a rare, wide-ranging interview, Mitchell confirmed that she and her team are trying to" release an album of the show, a collaborative performance with US Americana singer Brandi Carlile which featured guests including Blake Mills, Marcus Mumford, Wynonna Judd and more. It was Mitchell's first full performance in more than 20 years, and found the iconic folk artist singing from an onstage throne; at one point, during Just Like This Train, she stood to perform a guitar solo. I couldn't sing the key, I've become an alto, I'm not a soprano any more," Mitchell told John of the rendition. I thought people might feel lighted if I just played the guitar part ... it was very well received, much to my delight."

Elsewhere in the interview, which airs in full at 5pm today (12 November), Mitchell discusses the original reception to much of her work, which she says made people nervous": People thought it was too intimate. It was almost like Dylan going electric. I think it upset the male singer-songwriters ... It took to this generation, they seem to be able to face those emotions more easily than my generation." She also expresses her outrage" at wars (I guess it's an old hippy thought like make love, not war ... you'd think we'd wise up and take care of the ecology situation instead of starting wars") and describes Chuck Berry as the goat", an acronym for greatest of all time.