Song To A Seagull

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Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell debuted in 1968 with this impressionistic and slightly overwrought album. Produced by David Crosby, the album uses very sparse instrumentation--mostly Mitchell on acoustic guitar with Stephen Stills on bass--to back Mitchell's incredibly complex lyrical forays. (The original LP's sides were subtitled.) But despite her grand plans, the disc is most successful in its humblest moments. "Michael from Mountains" (successfully covered by Judy Collins), "Night in the City," and "Marcie" all contain the seeds of Mitchell's best work, her melodic explorations, and observant eye. Tracks such as "The Dawntreader" and "The Pirates of Penance" are too close to creative-writing exercises to succeed. Nonetheless, a tantalizing debut. --Rob O'Connor

Song To A Seagull,Joni Mitchell,Reprise / Wea,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

Song To A Seagull

Average customer rating:

Another Earthly Pleasure
Busy being free
Beautiful, fragile and seriously under-rated...
Places to come from, places to go
Timeless, fabulous, evocative, purest Joni Mitchell

Song To A Seagull
Joni Mitchell
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Clouds
Ladies of the Canyon
For the Roses
Blue
Court and Spark

ASIN: B000002KOE
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

I Had A King
Michael From Mountains
Night In The City
Marcie
Nathan La Franeer
Sisotowbell Lane
The Dawntreader
The Pirate Of Penance
Song To A Seagull
Cactus Tree

Amazon.com

Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell debuted in 1968 with this impressionistic and slightly overwrought album. Produced by David Crosby, the album uses very sparse instrumentation--mostly Mitchell on acoustic guitar with Stephen Stills on bass--to back Mitchell's incredibly complex lyrical forays. (The original LP's sides were subtitled.) But despite her grand plans, the disc is most successful in its humblest moments. "Michael from Mountains" (successfully covered by Judy Collins), "Night in the City," and "Marcie" all contain the seeds of Mitchell's best work, her melodic explorations, and observant eye. Tracks such as "The Dawntreader" and "The Pirates of Penance" are too close to creative-writing exercises to succeed. Nonetheless, a tantalizing debut. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

Another Earthly Pleasure.......2007-05-25

By that, I mean Joni Mitchell is yet another joy to life here on earth.

I've been a big fan since High School, first with "Court & Spark" (remember "Car on the Hill?"), and with virtually everything else having to do with "Clouds," "Blue" (my favorite), "Both Sides Now," "Ladies of the Canyon," and even, "Hits," where you can find the amazing, "Urge to Go," which I used to be able to play on the guitar (along with "Circle Game," "Both Sides Now," and "Morning Morgantown,"). Her alternate tunings open up a whole new world of guitar sounds.

What a thrill when I discovered the existence of "Song to A Seagull" just a few months ago! "Michael From Mountains," "Dawntreader" (so delicate) and "Cactus Tree" I'd put up there with my cherished favorites.

People always like to put things in context, so they feel compelled to compare Joni's albums to each other. Ok, if forced to do so, I would say that "Song to a Seagull" has some of Joni's finest poetry. How can she convey the beauty, depth and sorrow of relationships so brilliantly? She is a miracle we are all fortunate to share.

Its all been said by the other reviewers better than I could ever say it. Like Van Gogh, Christopher Guest, Uma Thurman, John Belushi, etc., its all magnificent, literally.

Busy being free.......2007-05-21

Interviewed in 1979, Mitchell said, "I don't care too much for the second album I made [Clouds]. I like the first one, the first one's honest."

Every time a woman leaves a man to find her own destiny is a momentous event - especially when the woman is Joni Mitchell. Song To A Seagull is a declaration, and a rhapsody, of eternal liberation; it behooves the astute soul to listen attentively. From the slam of the marriage door ("I Had a King") to the Pacific expanse ("The Dawntreader"), Mitchell lays out a lifesaving narrative with the detail of Darwin and the cerebration of Shelley. "Sisotowbell Lane" is a more picturesque portrait of Laurel Canyon life than "Ladies of the Canyon." Everywhere, these are art (not folkie) songs, particles of minstrelsy unbeholden to gravity. A quiet genius whispers of majesties to come; these are the tunes that, in their quasi-flowerpower consonance, serendipitously stopped the world like a quixotic trolley to let on board the woman who would upend everything.

Beautiful, fragile and seriously under-rated..........2007-05-08

As a long time Joni Mitchell fan how did I miss this one? Well, like many others who got into her music after her first rush of success her debut, devoid of any "hits" and rarely played on the radio, then & now, somehow just passed me by. My loss... because, it's a fragile, haunting and impeccably played & sung album. David Crosby's production extracts the best from what was, as time has shown, an incredibly talented artist putting everything into her first release and its pared-down, at times almost sparse arrangements are a huge credit to both artists in capturing "singer/songwriter folk music" at its very highest levels.

A lot of what of what was to follow was better and justifiably more successful but "Song To A Seagull" has that rarest of things - a level of purity and sincerity in its lyrics and execution that makes it absolutely timeless. So much so that its most successful track, "Night in the City", with its excellent, folk/rock orientated delivery ends up as an almost uncomfortable distraction from the spellbinding simplicity of what surrounds it. A seriously under-rated and quite beautiful record.

Places to come from, places to go.......2007-04-18

I like this album a lot (yes, this is another favourable review) but I can say that, now I have listened to it a good few times. It's not an instant fix say as Court & Spark, which came much later, but `Seagull isn't that record and in time you wouldn't want it to be. My guess is Joni was going for something artsy here, putting to one-side early signature songs such as `Chelsea Morning' and `Both Sides Now' (though they certainly have their merits) for the likes of the intrepid `Pirate of Penance' and `The Dawntreader' which can evoke the most haunting of daydreams. `I Had A King' works like an unhappily ever after fairytale which could depress the hell out of you, if it were not for its perfect execution. Her complex chords manage to sound angry, yet sad and beautiful and this in part is where her talent lies. The guitar work really is interesting as with most Mitchell albums, but here definitely. It's almost as if she wanted to prove herself to the masses by setting a standard - thankfully of course she did go on to make a lot more good music throughout the 70's. Unlike the later albums, `Seagull sounds audibly different with an echo type resonance throughout; whether this was purely down to dated production or a technical fault I'm not sure, but I actually feel it adds something - albeit intentional or not. `Seagull is faultless with ten good songs, though I can appreciate it not being to everyone's liking; even with Joni's clear accented playing and poetic story telling imagery the album plays like a daydream. The only anomaly is the bouncy `Night in The City' which adds bass and piano to a mostly guitar soundscape. I am pleased for the fact she did choose these songs, even if she had included early-unreleased greats like `Eastern Rain' this would be a very different album.

Timeless, fabulous, evocative, purest Joni Mitchell.......2007-01-31

I fell through a maze of hyperlinks, NPR playing Mark O'Connor to O'Connor collaborating with Jane Monheit to Monheit singing Judy Collins songs to Collins singing "Chelsea Morning" -- and suddenly the voice of a young Joni Mitchell flooded my mind's ear. I HAD TO HEAR "MICHAEL FROM MOUNTAINS." And so, after decades away from this wonderful recording (I have it on LP or 8-track... somewhere...), I rediscovered "Song To A Seagull," and I knew every note, every bar, every phrase, every breath, every word. And it is still as pristine and haunting and mischievous and sad and glorious as the very first day I heard it. How can I pick Joni Mitchell's "best" recording? Impossible. But this is one of the best of all of her many bests, still a perfect treasure after all almost 40 years.