A long unreleased demo recording of Joni Mitchell's "Turn Me On I'm A Radio" that features Neil Young on harmonica and electric guitar has been released in anticipation of Mitchell's upcoming archival album. Mitchell performs at the presentation of the Gershwin Prize, in Washington on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
TORONTO – A long unreleased Joni Mitchell demo recording with an appearance by fellow Canadian musician Neil Young is finally seeing the light of day.
More than 50 years after it was made, an early version of the folk singer-songwriter’s track “You Turn Me On I’m A Radio” has been issued with Young playing electric guitar and harmonica.
The song is a teaser for “Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975),” which comes out Friday.
Mitchell’s archival album chronicles a formative four-year stretch of her career around the release of her albums “For the Roses,” “Court and Spark” and “The Hissing of Summer Lawns.”
The demo for “You Turn Me On I’m A Radio” was made when the two Canadian legends collaborated in mid-April 1972 while Mitchell participated in recording sessions for what became “For the Roses” at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood.
The final version of “You Turn Me On I’m A Radio” wound up becoming the first single from “For the Roses” and one of Mitchell’s first Billboard chart hits.
However, that take did not include performance elements of Young, who was playing as part of his band Neil Young & The Stray Gators.
Mitchell’s boxed set will be released as five compact discs, a shorter four-LP version and a digital option. The physical copies include photographs of the era and a conversation with filmmaker and former Rolling Stone journalist Cameron Crowe.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.
