The album was, at the time, widely believed to be her last of completely original material; this would be disproved with the release of Shine in 2007.

Contributors to Taming the Tiger include Larry Klein on bass and Wayne Shorter on saxophone.

The album combines the jazz stylings of much of her work with a textured, ambient-esque sound, indebted to her use of the Roland VG-8 virtual guitar system.

However, it received positive reviews from critics and was considered a continuation of a return to form which started with Night Ride Home (1991).

This setup allowed Mitchell to switch between different alternate tunings with the press of a button rather than having to retune the guitar between each song – the frustration of which was a main factor in her decision to give up touring after 1983.