Maps of Music

Taming the Tiger (1998)

Where the lyrics of Taming the Tiger take you, and where it was really made.

Once widely believed to be Joni Mitchell's last album of all-original songs, it was proved wrong by Shine in 2007.

Place unknown

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Taming the Tiger: sixteenth studio album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell
Released 29 September 1998 on Reprise Records
Follow-up to Turbulent Indigo (1994), which had achieved strong success
Combines the jazz stylings of much of her work with a textured, ambient-esque sound
Eleven tracks, including 'Harlem in Havana', 'Man from Mars', 'Lead Balloon' and 'Tiger Bones'
Issued in a standard clear tray jewel case with a 10-page booklet

Prominent use of the Roland VG-8 virtual guitar system
VG-8 let Mitchell switch between alternate tunings with a button instead of retuning between songs
Guitar stayed in standard tuning while its sound was processed to match the chosen tuning
Retuning frustration was a main factor in her decision to give up touring after 1983
Result: a more atmospheric, ambient sound throughout the album

Engineers: Dan Marnien, Tony Phillips, Femi Jiya
Mixing: Joni Mitchell and Dan Marnien
Art direction: Joni Mitchell and Robbie Cavolina
Larry Klein on bass and Wayne Shorter on saxophone, with Brian Blade on drums
Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar
Michael Landau on low lead guitar on 'Lead Balloon'
Mark Isham on trumpet on 'Stay in Touch'
Femi Jiya on spoken vocals (barker) on 'Harlem in Havana'
Mitchell plays vocals, guitar, keyboards and percussion, and bass on three tracks

Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter, born Roberta Joan Anderson in 1943 in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

Began singing in Saskatoon nightclubs, then performed in Calgary and Toronto before moving to the United States in 1965.
Her songs were first recorded by other singers, which helped her sign with Reprise Records.
Debut album Song to a Seagull was released in 1968.

Blue (1971) is often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Court and Spark (1974) moved toward jazz influences and became her best-selling album.
Collaborated with jazz musicians including Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, and Charles Mingus.
Won eleven Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Returned to live performance in 2022 at the Newport Folk Festival after a 2015 brain aneurysm.

Regarded as a continuation of a return to form that began with Night Ride Home (1991)
Considered part of the late-1990s stretch of Mitchell's work built around the VG-8 guitar sound
Widely believed at the time to be her last all-original album, a view later disproved by Shine in 2007

The album was widely believed at the time to be Mitchell's last of completely original material; Shine (2007) disproved this.
The Italian edition's title is 'Addomesticando la tigre', referring to the unexpected public and critical success of Turbulent Indigo.
David Yaffe, in Reckless Daughter, described the guitar sound as 'a computerized approximation of a guitar with a head cold'.
'Man from Mars' was covered by Kristen Vigard in the 1996 film Grace of My Heart and by Chaka Khan in 2000 on the live DVD The Jazz Channel Presents Chaka Khan.
Some copies were issued with a sticker on the front of the jewel case.