Joni Mitchell Shin

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years 1963-1967 fills in an important chapter that heretofore has gone undocumented through in her official discography: her formative years as a folkie, playing intimate venues and radio stations while recording the occasional demo or gift tape at home…

Joni Mitchell has had one of the most peculiar career arcs in the history of popular music. Since her first stint as a superstar in the making – from about 1967 to 1975 – her overall creative catalog of complex, challenging, ever-changing music has gone more or less unnoticed by the masses. Of course, this has been done by mutual agreement between artist and audience. Mitchell has no desire to pander (when she's slipped and tried, the results have been very mixed – 1985's poorly received Dog Eat Dog, for example) and the vast majority of the pop music buying public don't want to think when they listen to favored acts.

Turns out it is a 1970 concert Joni taped in England for the BBC. It captures Joni during that golden time right between LADIES OF THE CANYON and BLUE…

Song to a Seagull is Joni Mitchell's 1968 debut album. Mitchell would later note that the album is more a result of her love of classical music than of folk, and this is evident through the thick, rich, and often unusual harmonies, and the densely poetic lyrics of the album. This album was originally released as an untitled or self-titled LP because of an error at Reprise Records' publishing department.