David Crosby’s favourite Joni Mitchell album
The life of David Crosby was exceptionally storied. As a singer-songwriter, he accomplished almost everything available to him. He achieved chart success with The Byrds, gained a cult following with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and delivered a ream of songs that have garnered him a powerful legacy. When looking back through the tale of Crosby, there have been many central characters, one of which is Joni Mitchell.
Mitchell is another artist who boasts a supreme resume. Regarded as the finest confessional songwriter of her generation, Mitchell’s ability to craft tracks that both feel entirely personal and universal simultaneously has afforded her icon status. In fact, Crosby himself once labelled Mitchell as one of the best performers to ever step on stage or into the studio.
The two stars’ paths crossed numerous times, starting with when Crosby produced the singer on her debut record. But Mitchell was also pivotal in giving Crosby his biggest break in the music world and introducing him to her friends Stephen Stills and Neil Young, who would later form CSNY.
When speaking about the star in 2021, Crosby made a comparison with the ‘Voice of a Generation’, Bob Dylan. Crosby explained that he believed Mitchell trumps Dylan in terms of artistry. He said: “She’s as good a poet as Bob (Dylan), and she’s ten times the musician and singer than he is. I care about him, but the truth is she’s much better as a musician and much better as a singer.”
Of course, it wasn’t always just about the music. Famously, Crosby and Mitchell dated briefly back in 1967, and the nature of their romance was captured on Mitchell’s debut studio album, Song to a Seagull. However, the relationship soon fell apart, and unsurprisingly, Crosby’s behaviour was the deciding factor. He would show off Mitchell to his friends like a “talented possession”, which she thought was “kind of embarrassing… as if I were his discovery”.
Mitchell would even use music to knock him down a peg or two, writing ‘That Song About the Midway’ directly in response to Crosby’s unforgivable behaviour while they were together. While Mitchell would wash her hands of Crosby shortly after this event, the ‘De Ja Vu’ man never lost his admiration for her. And, when asked by Spin to pick a selection of his favourite records, he had to include one of Mitchell’s records.
“Probably the best singer-songwriter record ever made,” noted Crosby as he selected Mtichell’s 1971 album Blue as one of five he simply couldn’t live without. It’s an LP widely touted as her best work and arguably one of the best of the decade. Blue defines Mitchell’s ability to craft isolated material that feels wholly connected to every human experience.
Speaking to Jeffery Rodgers while reflecting on the album, Mitchell poignantly stated, “I was opened up. As a matter of fact, we had to close the doors and lock them while I recorded [Blue] because I was in a state of mind that in this culture would be called a nervous breakdown. In pockets of the Orient, it would be considered a shamanic conversion.”
Mitchell continued to shed light on the deeply personal moment that the record encapsulates: “It begins with a sense of isolation and of not knowing anything, which is accompanied by a tremendous panic. Then clairvoyant qualities begin to come in, and you and the world become transparent, so if you’re approached by a person, all their secrets are not closeted.”
Blue remains a pivotal moment in her career and many people’s lives.
