‘Court and Spark’ was the most successful record of Mitchell’s career, her only #1, in fact, and it’s easy to see why; this album is so straight forward and easy to listen to in comparison to her other records. Not saying that she’s not easy to listen to in general, but albums like ‘The Hissing Of Summer Lawns’ (#258) and ‘Hejira’ (#133) are a bit more abstract, bearing a heavy Jazz influence, whereas this album is straight forward folk pop.

“No regrets Coyote/We just come from such different sets of circumstance,” what a perfect way to start an album. ‘Coyote’ was written about Sam Shepard, a member of Bob Dylan’s entourage from the Rolling Thunder Review with whom Mitchell had a brief relationship. Mitchell joined the tour for a few shows in 1975. She picked up a relationship and a cocaine habit. The song is all about sex, drugs and Folk Rock ‘n Roll. The album in itself is a road trip album. It was written mostly in the car while Mitchell was road tripping solo following ‘The Hissing Of Summer Lawns’ tour (#258).