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The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Joni Mitchell

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Album Review

Joni Mitchell evolved from the smooth jazz-pop of Court and Spark to the radical Hissing of Summer Lawns, an adventurous work that remains among her most difficult records. After opening with the graceful "In France They Kiss on Main Street," the album veers sharply into "The Jungle Line," an odd, Moog-driven piece backed by the rhythms of the warrior drums of Burundi — a move into multiculturalism that beat the likes of Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, and Sting to the punch by a decade. While not as prescient, songs like "Edith and the Kingpin" and "Harry's House — Centerpiece" are no less complex or idiosyncratic, employing minor-key melodies and richly detailed lyrics to arrive at a strange and beautiful fusion of jazz and shimmering avant pop.

Customer Reviews

Stunning

Joni took a leap of faith with this under-rated album and it is one of her best musically and lyrically with its brute sophistication. Gone is the lipstick and beret feel of "Court and Spark"; present is an almost film noire approach in melody and style and is it a mere coincidence that a song like "Shadows and Light" would appear as its last track? Or is this what she was driving at as the end result? Her voice never sounded better nor has her musicianship. This album is a collage of diverse styles and shape, known for her paintings as well as her music, this album is a canvas of color and impressionism capturing raw emotion and there is a lot of edge. Other than her masterpiece "Blue", "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" stands out as one of her best but unlike "Blue", it is much more timeless and less self-absorbed. Joni went from singer/songwriter to accomplished musicianship with this project. This album also had the lowest sales of any of her works, a fact which seems mystifying but perhaps a blessing in disguise. This is a work that cries out to be heard in its entirety. This album is truly classic, "Sweet Bird" is one of the most moving and sensual pieces she has ever written. Released in 1975 it went practically unnoticed, probably because it was so far ahead of its time that it was impossible for people to truly absorb it.

Way more than just a girl with a guitar...

Essentially Joni’s most esoteric record, "Hissing of Summer Lawns" is a vivid musical escapade that really speaks of her true musical strengths and talents combining pop/folk songwriting with unconventional, genre-bending arrangements. Sometimes criticized for being too lyrically and sonically abstract, the album also marks the start of when the serious jazz cats were first brought into the fold with Joni’s music (earlier ensembles had included rock/jazz/fusion players, like the LA Express, but not quite the full jazz pedigree that began with HOSL), a big sign Joni's music was taking a turn from the mainstream. Where the earlier release "Blue" was Joni’s intimate personal revelation, "Hissing of Summer Lawns" became her opus to the external world, to the many-faceted, colorful, crazy world around her. It’s sort of a concept album - lush, textured, melodically challenging, full of metaphorical imagery, and obscure stories. In a way, it’s Joni waxing Picasso a bit. It’s like her “Alice in Wonderland” moment. This record takes a few listens to really appreciate. But it’s SO unique. Love it.

Simply Brilliant

The Hissing of Summer Lawns was a stylistic break for Joni Mitchell, leaning more heavily on complex rhythms and jazz progressions than her earlier work. The music here ranges from light pop (In France They Kiss on Main Street) to world (The Jungle Line) and everything in between. The first five songs are especially strong, yet this is an album that is definitely worth owning and listening to in its entirety. The musicians working behind Mitchell on this CD were some of the best jazz studio musicians working in LA, and include guitarists Larry Carlton and Robben Ford, along with keyboardists Joe Sample and Victor Feldman. They add sheer technical brilliance to Mitchell's complex compositions, resulting in music that is both challenging and satisfying.

Biography

Born: November 07, 1943 in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century. Uncompromising and iconoclastic, Mitchell confounded expectations at every turn; restlessly innovative, her music evolved from deeply personal folk stylings into pop, jazz, avant-garde, and even world music, presaging the multicultural experimentation of the 1980s and 1990s by over a decade. Fiercely independent, her work steadfastly resisted the whims of both mainstream...
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