''Taming the Tiger'' is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian musician

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 ...

. Released on September 29, 1998 through

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 ...

, it is the follow-up to the successful ''

Turbulent Indigo ''Turbulent Indigo'' is the 15th album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Released in 1994, it won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album. John Milward, writing for ''Rolling Stone'', wrote that it was Mitchell's "best album since the mid- ...

'' (1994). The album was, at the time, widely believed to be her last of completely original material; this would be disproved with the release of '' Shine'' in 2007. Contributors to ''Taming the Tiger'' include

Larry Klein Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby ...

on bass and

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

on saxophone. The album combines the jazz stylings of much of her work with a textured, ambient-esque sound, indebted to her use of the Roland VG-8 virtual guitar system. ''Taming the Tiger'' did not achieve the same level of success as its predecessor, peaking at number 86 in Mitchell's native Canada and number 75 in the US. However, it received positive reviews from critics and was considered a continuation of a return to form which started with ''

Night Ride Home ''Night Ride Home'' is the 14th album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1991. It was the last of four albums she recorded for Geffen Records. Songs on the album include "Cherokee Louise" about a childhood friend who suffe ...

'' (1991).

Background

''Taming the Tiger'' features prominent use of the Roland VG-8 virtual guitar system. This setup allowed Mitchell to switch between different alternate tunings with the press of a button rather having to retune the guitar between each song – the frustration of which was a main factor in her decision to give up touring after 1983. While the guitar remained in standard tuning, its sound would be processed to create the sound of the alternate tuning she had chosen. The unique sound of the guitar, described by David Yaffe in ''Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell'' as "a computerized approximation of a guitar with a head cold", created a more atmospheric, ambient sound which is prevalent throughout the album.

Notable covers

"Man from Mars" was covered by

Kristen Vigard Kristen Vigard (born May 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer. She is known for being the first actress to play the title role in '' Annie'' in its pre-Broadway run and for her two-year run as Morgan Richards on ''Guiding Light'' (1980–8 ...

in the 1996 film, ''

Grace of My Heart ''Grace of My Heart'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Allison Anders and starring Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Patsy Kensit, and John Turturro. The film charts the music career of Denise Waverly ...

''. "Man from Mars" was also covered by

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

in 2000 for her live concert DVD ''The Jazz Channel Presents Chaka Khan''.

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Joni Mitchell; except where indicated #"Harlem in Havana" – 4:25 #"Man from Mars" – 4:09 #"Love Puts on a New Face" – 3:46 #"Lead Balloon" – 3:38 #"No Apologies" – 4:17 #"Taming the Tiger" – 4:18 #"The Crazy Cries of Love" (music: Joni Mitchell; lyrics:

Don Freed Donald Freed (born 1949 in New Westminster) is a Canadian singer-songwriter best known for his works about life on the prairies of western-Canada and the province of Saskatchewan in particular. Life and career Don Freed was born of Métis desce ...

) – 3:54 #"Stay in Touch" – 2:59 #"Face Lift" – 4:41 #"My Best to You" (Gene Willadsen,

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...

) – 2:52 #"Tiger Bones" – 4:18

Personnel

Musicians * Joni Mitchell – vocals, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion; bass (tracks 2, 5, 10) * Femi Jiya – spoken vocals (barker) on "Harlem in Havana" *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– low lead guitar on "Lead Balloon" *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

– saxophone *

– bass *

Brian Blade Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970) is an American jazz drummer, composer, session musician, and singer-songwriter. Early life Blade was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. The first music he experienced was gospel and songs of praise at ...

– drums *

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and ...

– trumpet (track 8) Production * Dan Marnien, Tony Phillips, Femi Jiya – engineer * Joni Mitchell, Dan Marnien – mixing * Joni Mitchell, Robbie Cavolina – art direction

Charts

References

{{Authority control Joni Mitchell albums 1998 albums Reprise Records albums Albums with cover art by Joni Mitchell Albums produced by Joni Mitchell