“Cactus Tree” by Joni Mitchell

"Cactus Tree" comes from Song to a Seagull, the debut album Joni Mitchell put out on Reprise in March 1968, and the credits could hardly be simpler: she wrote the words and music, sings it and plays the guitar. David Crosby produced the record, a job that came with her Reprise deal after they met in the fall of 1967.

Crosby wanted her to sound pure and unvarnished, so at Sunset Sound in Hollywood he had her sing into the studio's grand piano, with extra microphones catching her voice ringing off the strings. The rig picked up too much room noise, though, and scrubbing out the tape hiss afterward cost the album its high end and left it flat. The songs of hers that other singers had already turned into hits, like "Both Sides Now" and "Chelsea Morning", stayed off it.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.