My Secret Place

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"My Secret Place"
Single by Joni Mitchell
from the album Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm
B-side"Number One" (Europe and Australia) / "Lakota" (North America)
Released1988
Recorded1986—1987
Length5:01
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Joni Mitchell
Producer(s)Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell singles chronology
"Shiny Toys"
(1986) 		"My Secret Place"
(1988) 		"Cool Water"
(1988)

"My Secret Place" is a song written by Joni Mitchell that first appeared on her 1988 album Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm. Recorded as a duet with Peter Gabriel, the song was released as the first single from the album and reached number 41 on the Canadian singles chart, becoming her first song to reach the Canadian top 100 since "Coyote" eleven years prior.

Background[edit]

"My Secret Place" and "Number One" were the first two songs Mitchell wrote for Chalk Mark in A Rainstorm. When Mitchell was working on new material in Britain, Robert Plant visited the house she was staying at with the intention of finding potential songs to record. During his stay, Mitchell sang him stripped down renditions of "My Secret Place: and "Number One" with an acoustic guitar. Plant was impressed with both songs, but was particularly interested in recording "Number One". Mitchell ultimately opted not to collaborate with Plant on the album and instead elected to record "My Secret Place" with Peter Gabriel.[1] Mitchell's husband, Larry Klein, had played on Gabriel's So album in 1986, which prompted Gabriel to invite Mitchell and Klein to his Ashcombe House studio, where the duet between Gabriel and Mitchell on "My Secret Place" was recorded.[2]

On "My Secret Place", Mitchell expended an entire reel of tape by layering the same guitar part 24 times. She rationalized this decision as a means to make her guitar more prominent in the mix rather than an attempt to achieve a Phil Spector wall of sound, believing that the guitar overdubs would "beef up" certain sections and make the chord changes more noticeable.[3] Mitchell executed these guitar parts on a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar[1] and utilized a guitar tuning of C# G# D# F# G# C#.[4]

Lyrically, the song details a story about moving from New York City to the Colorado mountains with a loved one.[3] Mitchell described "My Secret Place" as the only love song on Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm. "The song's about the threshold of intimacy. It's a shared thing so I wanted it to be like the Song of Solomon where you can’t tell what gender it is. It's the uniting spirit of two people at the beginning of a relationship."[1]

Critical reception[edit]

J.D. Considine of Rolling Stone thought that the song showcased "the similarities between her [Mitchell's] voice and Peter Gabriel's to illustrate the shifting confidences of shared intimacy, swapping lines or pulling back into separate verses as the balance within the relationship wobbles and shifts." The publication also listed "My Secret Place" as one of Mitchell's 50 greatest songs.[2]

Uncut commended the drumming of Manu Katché and also praised the song’s vocal work, saying that "Gabriel and Mitchell's voices tie together to the point of being inseparable. They finish each other’s sentences and sing in unison, an aural equivalent of a couple who've accidentally started to dress the same."[5] Ken Tucker of The Village Voice thought that the song's lyrics evoked the "confessional mode that made Mitchell the most admired '70's singer-songwriter", further deeming the song as a strong album opener."[6] Greg Quill of the Toronto Star was more critical, saying that "My Secret Place" was "arguably the least appealing song on the album", although he praised Gabriel's "strong counterpoint" vocals.[7]

Track listing[edit]

  • UK 7" single (Geffen GEF 37)
  1. "My Secret Place" (edit) — 3:17
  2. "Number One" — 3:46
  • US 7" single (Geffen 7-27887)
  1. "My Secret Place" (edit) — 3:17
  2. "Lakota" — 6:25

Personnel[edit]

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 41

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Flanagan, Bill (May 1988). "Secret Places" (PDF). Musician Magazine. pp. 65–69, 72. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Browne, David; Dolan, Jon; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Martoccio, Angie; Shteamer, Hank; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Wolk, Douglas (June 22, 2021). "Joni Mitchell: 50 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Bego, Mark (2005). Joni Mitchell. United States: Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-58979-134-3.
  4. ^ "The Guitar-Tuning Odyssey of Joni Mitchell". Acoustic Guitar. April 14, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (December 7, 2020). "Joni Mitchell: The Ultimate Music Guide" (PDF). Uncut. pp. 86–89. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  6. ^ Tucker, Ken (March 29, 1988). "Public Invited". The Village Voice – via Joni Mitchell: Library of Articles.
  7. ^ Quill, Greg (March 25, 1988). "Album is All Joni, Despite Heavyweight Sidemen" (PDF). Toronto Star. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8588." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
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