''Song to a Seagull'' (also known as ''Joni Mitchell'') is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

. Produced by

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

, the album was recorded in 1967 at

Sunset Sound Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

and released on March 23, 1968 by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

Production

The album was recorded at

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

during the later part of 1967.

was assigned as producer as part of the deal with Reprise Records. Crosby wanted Mitchell to sound pure and natural, so he asked her to sing into the studio grand piano, and set up extra microphones to capture her voice reverberating off the strings; unfortunately the set-up captured too much ambient noise, resulting in excessive

tape hiss Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive *Athletic tape, pressure-sensitiv ...

, which could only be removed post-production at the cost of the high sounds in the audio range, which gives the album a flat feel. Mitchell had written songs that were hits for other artists (e.g., "

Both Sides Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album ''Clouds'', and became one of ...

" and "

Chelsea Morning "Chelsea Morning" is a song written and composed by Joni Mitchell and recorded for the singer's second album, ''Clouds'', which she released in 1969. Background The song was inspired by Mitchell's room in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. ...

" by

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

and

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...

, "Eastern Rain" by

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

, "Urge for Going" and " The Circle Game" by

Tom Rush Thomas Walker Rush (born February 8, 1941) is an American folk and blues singer, guitarist and songwriter who helped launch the careers of other singer-songwriters in the 1960s and has continued his own singing career for 60 years. Life and ...

), but none of those songs were recorded for her debut.

Content

Mitchell has said that "Sisotowbell" stands for "Somehow, in spite of trouble, ours will be ever lasting love". The album was dedicated to her

Grade 7 Seventh grade (or grade seven) is a year or level of education. The seventh grade is the eighth school year, the second or third year of middle school, and the first year of junior high school. Students are around 13-14 years old in this stage of ...

English teacher, "Mr. Kratzmann, who taught me to love words".

Release

This album was originally released as ''Joni Mitchell'' because the LP album covers were printed incorrectly, cutting off part of the ''Song to a Seagull'' title (spelled out by birds in flight). The cut-off, as well as the publishers at

not noticing that the birds spelled out the album name, caused the eponymous album title. The two sides of the LP were labelled as Part 1 – "I Came to the City", and Part 2 – "Out of the City and Down to the Seaside". On April 8, 2021,

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...

, the catalog arm of

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

, announced that a new mix of the album overseen by Mitchell and mixer Matt Lee would be released on June 25, 2021 as part of a special remaster collection comprising the singer's first four albums. Commenting on the quality of the original mix, Mitchell called it "atrocious" and said it "sounded like it was recorded under a

Jello Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a r ...

bowl". The remastered collection is part of the ongoing

Joni Mitchell Archives The Joni Mitchell Archives is an ongoing project to release previously unreleased recorded material by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. So far, each new release schedule consists of a box set collection, a compilation with material on the ...

project.

Track listing

Personnel

* Joni Mitchell – guitar, piano, vocals, album cover, banshee *

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

– bass on "Night in the City" * Lee Keefer – banshee Technical *

– producer * Art Crist – engineer *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of numerous Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album ...

– art direction

Charts

Other versions and covers

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...

covered two songs from the album: "Sisotowbell Lane" and "I Had a King". Elliot sang "I Had a King" "live" on ''

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

's Kaleidoscope'' in 1968. Neither song has ever been released on any of Elliot's seven albums. "Sisotowbell Lane" can be found on the CD

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

''The Complete Solo Collection – 1968–71'', released in 2005.

covered "Michael from Mountains" on her LP '' Wildflowers'', as did

Gábor Szabó Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music. Early years Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age ...

on his LP ''

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Joni Mitchell albums 1968 debut albums Albums produced by David Crosby Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders Albums with cover art by Joni Mitchell Concept albums Reprise Records albums