Song to a Seagull by Joni Mitchell

Song to a Seagull, Joni Mitchell's debut (also known simply as Joni Mitchell), came out on Reprise in March 1968, and it's the sound of a songwriter the folk crowd already knew through other people's records finally stepping up to sing her own. Other singers had gotten to "Both Sides, Now" and "The Circle Game" first, and that was what opened the Reprise door for the Canadian who had worked her way from small clubs in Saskatoon to Toronto and then south across the border.

David Crosby produced it at Sunset Sound in 1967, and to his credit he mostly stays out of the way: this is Mitchell's voice front and center, the arrangements spare and clear as spring water, her lyrics already turning personal experience into something sharper than confession. "Cactus Tree" is the track that still turns up on the countdowns.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.