Dog Eat Dog is the 12th album by Joni Mitchell, released in 1985. It was her second album for Geffen Records. The album was a departure for Mitchell due to its synthetic sound (featuring production work by British synthesiser musician Thomas Dolby).

Lyrically, the album dealt with prominent issues in mid 1980s society, such as televangelists, consumerism and famine in Ethiopia.

One of Mitchell’s more unusual songs, “Smokin’ (Empty, Try Another)” was recorded by sampling the sound of the cigarette machine in the hall of the studio where Wild Things Run Fast was recorded. “Good Friends” was recorded as a duet with Michael McDonald; a video was produced for the song using film animation by Jim Blashfield. “Shiny Toys” and “Good Friends” were released as singles; “Shiny Toys” was also released in a 12″ Extended Dance Single format, remix by François Kevorkian, and had a more complete lyric than the album version, featuring spoken voice by Thomas Dolby ( “I LOVE being out on the golf course!”).

Tracks
1 Good Friends (Joni Mitchell) 4:29
2  Fiction (Joni Mitchell, Larry Klein) 4:10
3  The Three Great Stimulants (Joni Mitchell) 6:15
4  Tax Free (Joni Mitchell, Larry Klein) 4:17
5  Smokin’ (Empty, Try Another) (Joni Mitchell) 1:45
6  Dog Eat Dog (Joni Mitchell) 4:42
7  Shiny Toys (Joni Mitchell) 3:28
8  Ethiopia (Joni Mitchell) 5:51
9  Impossible Dreamer (Joni Mitchell) 4:31
10  Lucky Girl (Joni Mitchell) 4:01

Musicians

1 Good Friends
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Michael McDonald
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

2 Fiction
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

3 The Three Great Stimulants
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

4 Tax Free
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Background Vocals - Amy Holland
Background Vocals - Don Henley
Background Vocals - James Taylor
Background Vocals - Michael McDonald
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

5 Smokin’ (Empty, Try Another)
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Steve Lukather
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

6 Dog Eat Dog
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Background Vocals - Don Henley
Background Vocals - James Taylor
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

7 Shiny Toys
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Flute - Larry Williams
Sax - Larry Williams
Trumpet - Gary Grant
Trumpet - Jerry Hey
Background Vocals - Don Henley
Background Vocals - James Taylor
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

8 Ethiopia
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Piano - Joni Mitchell
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Flute - Kazu Matsui
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

9 Impossible Dreamer
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Alex Acuna
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Sax - Wayne Shorter
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

10 Lucky Girl
Bass - Larry Klein
Drums - Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar - Mike Landau
Keyboards - Larry Klein
Keyboards - Thomas Dolby
Synthesizer - Larry Klein
Synthesizer - Thomas Dolby
Sax - Wayne Shorter
Percussion - Mike Fisher
Vocals - Joni Mitchell

Liner Notes

Producer – Joni Mitchell
Producer – Larry Klein, Mike Shipley (Tracks 1, 2,3 , 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Producer – Thomas Dolby (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10)
Engineer – Mike Shipley
Engineer (Assistant) – Bob Winard, Dan Marnien
Mixed By – Mike Shipley
Art Direction – Glen Christensen
Design, Painting – Joni Mitchell
Photography – Norman Seeff
Engineered At Galaxy Studio
Mixed At Galaxy Studio
Mastered At Precision Lacquer
Phonographic Copyright The David Geffen Company
Copyright The David Geffen Company