THERE'S something for everyone in Joni Mitchell's music. She might be talking about something completely unrelated to anything in your experience but then there'll be a line which will be worth waiting the whole song for  something you can relate to. For example, in a song called Jericho there's a line: "Anyone will tell you just how hard it is to keep a friend / Maybe they'll short sell you or maybe they'll turn Judas in the end." Everyone can recognize that kind of sentiment.

Joni Mitchell has an amazing ability to record parts of her life in a way people will understand. I like all her albums for the same reasons  they have such longevity, you can listen to them over and over again.

What's also incredible is the way Joni's career has changed over the years. She's been a folk singer, almost a Joan Baez type, and she hasn't been afraid to experiment with jazz. In fact she's very much admired throughout the jazz scene  people like Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius are great fans of hers, and they've ended up being key contributors in her career.

I've definitely been influenced by Joni  mostly in the way I write lyrics. She can write about anything. We're friends now and she's everything you'd imagine her to be from her songs  one of the few people who've actually turned out like this.

ESSENTIAL ALBUMS

Hejira
This album has my favourite Joni Mitchell song, A Strange Boy. "We got high on travel, we got drunk on alcohol and on love, the strongest poison and medicine of all"  such simple points of view but sung in a way that really hits home. I love the whole album, and it has some of Jaco Pastorius's best work.

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Simply because it just has great Joni Mitchell songs. There's a fantastic song called Edith And The Kingpin, about a woman and her pimp, on which she makes references to drugs but in a very subtle and classy way: "He tilts her head back to the spoon." She's a masterful lyric writer.

Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
This is her experimental record. I listen to it a lot when I'm traveling, because it really helps you identify with the environment. Very atmospheric.

Indigo
I like this last one, partly because I sang on it. She's fantastic to work with and it's just magical to be around her.

Court And Spark
The classic Joni Mitchell song.

Seal's current single Don't Cry is out on ZTT. He was interviewed by Sam Wollaston.