The Hissing Of Summer Lawns

Can I acknowledge the musical genius of Joni Mitchell while admitting that I never enjoy listening to her albums as much as I think I'm supposed to? People with far more refined musical palettes than my own can't praise her enough, but I never quite get by the "Yeah, she sounds okay" stage.

It's a Joni Mitchell album, so it's hard to dislike. Not my favorite, but I'm not complaining ⭐⭐⭐.49

nice In France They Kiss on Main Street→10/10 The Jungle Line→9/10 Edith and the Kingpin→10/10 Don't Interrupt the Sorrow→9.5/10 Shades of Scarlett Conquering→10/10 The Hissing of Summer Lawns→10/10 The Boho Dance→10/10 Harry's House/Centerpiece→10/10 Sweet Bird→9/10 Shadows and Light→8.5/10 best→ Harry's House/Centerpiece worst→ Shadows and Light overrated→ Edith and the Kingpin underrated→ Shades of Scarlett Conquering overall→92/100 MUST HEAR It’s not better than I expect, but it’s still a really great album. This album incorporates a variety of elements—not just folk, but rock, jazz, psychedelia, and even gospel and world music—making an interesting sound. But it’s nice that it still includes her signature folk style.

Not a big fan of her blacksona thing

She's lost me at hello before, so credit where it's due.. this one held my attention. It's jazzy, moody, and way more interested in vibes than hooks. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - In France They Kiss on Main Street - Edith and the Kingpin - Harry's House/Centerpiece

The challenge with Joni Mitchell is she doesn't necessarily write melodies. Tunes you can hum along with. A traditional Verse-Verse-Chorus. She belts out her poetry along with whatever note she feels at that moment. It's very "Jazz" in that way which makes sense as she incorporates more jazzy elements into this record. Her voice is always nice to listen to, and the band here is stellar. But your mileage with Mitchell depends on your willingness to let go of traditional melody-rich tunes and just listen to the very free flowing songs that exist outside the norm of radio-ready hits.

Not a patch on Blue but pleasant none the less. Have to admit it all started blending into 1 song by the end maybe it stopped holding my attention.

Can't go wrong with Joni.

Always a joy with Joni

I really loved blue when I first listened to it so I had high expectations for this album but this just lacks the same character and charm that made blue so addictive Still not a bad album 3/5 Favorites: in France they kiss on man street, shadows and light

More this!!!

Not really my thing but pleasant enough

3.5

Stunning shimmering pop meets jazz with lyrical depth. Superb album! 5

This was so enjoyable. A fun album that is a cool mix of jazz and folk. Joni Mitchell is a legend for a reason. It started to feel repetitive, but overall this was great. Liked Songs: "In France They Kiss On Main Street" , "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" , "Shades Of Scarlett Conquering" , "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns" , "The Boho Dance" , "Harry's House / Centerpiece" , "Sweet Bird"

nice but not her best

Fourth attempt to get into Joni Mitchell on this list: another failure. Some of the jazz/folk/synth experimentation is interesting, but never works for me. And I'm just not sold on either the lyrics or the delivery. Ah well. Maybe there's something wrong with me.

It is with great merriment that I decree to you that on this day, the twenty-fourth of October, I will no longer be a slave to the music of one Joni Mitchell. All four musical anthologies that she has stitched together to eventually be brought forth to this list, I have sat through in painful agony. The harsh banshee screams perpetrated my nightmares. The dreadful melodies ate away at my soul. But, alas, it is gone. The terrible dragon has been slain, and it shall never wake again. I am free. Free, I say. Farewell, everyone, and know that I am now in the land of summer sun and dewdrops.

Enjoyed this. Nice tunes, well executed, sing well and with some interesting lyrics.

folk, singer/songwriter, 1975 -> 2

I cant do Joni. Not sure why, but every droney, boring album puts me to sleep with the same song over and over again.

That one track is good. Are we not tired of Joni

Shrugs. It's fine.

Mukavaa kuunneltavaa. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s just not for me this kind of turgid stuff

Against all odds, and for the same inexplainable reasons I liked another Joni Mitchell record we listened to on this list (BLUE), I actually really like this one, too. Don’t know why, and I really want to listen to it more than twice to get all the lyrics. On two listens: 3.5 stars. Maybe more after I get more into it.

I'm trying to be kind. this is one of those records that I respect more than I enjoy. I can hear the craft and innovation, but my ears never quite settle into it, so I end up appreciating it intellectually more than emotionally.

I generally like Joni Mitchell, but this album felt like it was missing a little something for me. Her songwriting is usually on point, but at times felt a little meandering here. I still liked both Don't Interrupt The Sorrow and the title track though.

the n word was a bit bold

Lots of variety on this. Fretless bass, moog and sampling (1975!), jazz. Not my jam. She's an icon and has such a characteristic voice, but I think some of the things that make her great are things that I just don't often connect with in music like the lyrics. Maybe if I sat down with a lyric sheet and listened to it, but maybe just not my jam.

I imagine my experience of this album is similar to those that don't like Bob Dylan. I can respect Joni's songwritting while still thinking the album isn't for me. Moorison type backing tracks raise this to a 4 for me

Classic stuff

This is my second time listening and I definitely enjoyed it. My favorite was “Shadows and Light”

I liked this quite a bit.

i wish i liked it more, bc it's joni mitchell and i want to be cool and like joni mitchell. but it was lovely

While it is interesting and full of good songs, the use of the N word and the song The Boho Dance really bothered me. I'm aware of the "it's from a different time rhetoric", same as the "context" of use here, none of that comforts me today, none of that makes it ok for me. Cause I'm also well aware of her prowess as a songwriter, and therefore that there are many words she could have used. I don't want or need to listen to that before I die. That is devastating, cause it's otherwise lovely, experimental work from Joni. I dont think one song should mean we throw away the whole album or the entire oeuvre of an artist, but I can't ignore the shadow that it does cast on this record and her either. I considered the one. I decided to go for balance because I do want to be consistent and there are a number of records that are offensive on here, that I have penalised but not outright canned, but I don't feel great about it.

Feels uninspired and really too much old fashioned

I had mixed feelings about this album. It started off promisingly with "In France They Kiss on Main Street," which combined Joni Mitchell's familiar folk vocals with jazzy instrumentation. It reminded me of something you'd hear on the soundtrack of a late-'70s comedy-drama. Unfortunately, the rest of the album didn't quite live up to that promising start. "The Jungle Line" didn't work for me because the instrumentation and vocals didn't seem to complement each other. Other songs, like "Edith and the Kingpin" and "Sweet Bird," were pleasant enough but ultimately boring. One highlight was the "Centerpiece" portion of "Harry's House," where the pace finally changed and Joni's vocals really suited the jazz arrangement. I also enjoyed the a cappella opening of "Shadows and Light," which had an almost futuristic, synthesizer-like sound that seemed ahead of its time for 1975. I love jazz, and I appreciate what Joni was trying to accomplish here. However, too many songs lacked the variety, energy, and memorable melodies that keep me engaged. Nothing was particularly awful, but very little stood out either. 3/5 stars. An interesting album that I respect more than I enjoy. I'm glad I experienced it, but I wouldn't add it to my vinyl collection.

It started out strong in my opinion with the first track, but quickly tapered off from there. Feeling kind of relieved that this was the last album of hers I'd need to hear.

Some good bits, some where the experiments didn't quite land (The Jungle Line?). Nothing in this jumped out like from Blue.

Joni Mitchell classic, wasn’t her best

God I love her. The second song was a miss but overall great album

"She was a Joni MItchell Girl. He was a Steely Dan Boy" I only recently (~6 months ago) started listening to Joni MItchell and man, I've really enjoyed it. The vocals and song lyrics are great, the instrumentation is sublime. I tend to lean more towards the jazzier performances but the folk is much appreciated. I haven't rated Court and Spark yet so I don't want to say which one I like more until I make it through it. But this album by itself is really good, so good I listened to it twice in the last 24 hours. Favorite(s): Shades of Scarlett Conquering Least: Maybe Jungle line? 4.5/5

Fav: Edith and the Kingpin, Harry's House/Centerpiece L: Shadows and Light 4 It's interesting we got Court and Spark only a few ago. I think I prefer that album; it's a bit more consistent for me. After listening to Court and Spark, most of the changes I thought it could use showed up in this one and I guess I was wrong in my diagnosis. Cover: 2 I think I get what it's going for, but it's just really ugly Name: 3.5 Cool Minecraft Parody: The Hissing of Creeper Caves

I don’t know what it is about her but she is just so soothing to listen to. I really liked this album except for “The jungle line”. After quite a stressful day this was just the perfect album, I also have never listened to a Joni Mitchell album before but I definitely will again

Very good album. The lyrics are very interesting (not surprisingly and as expected from Joni Mitchell). As for the music, I really like the folk and jazz fusion, whereas I'm not a big fan of the more experimental tracks (even if they provide a nice sound change). I enjoyed most of the songs: "Edith and the Kingpin" (probably my favourite track of this album), "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow", "Shades of Scarlett Conquering", "The Hissing of Summer Lawns", "The Boho Dance" or "Harry's House/Centerpiece". For me, this is between 3 and 4 stars, but more in the range of 4 stars.

Such a cool and creative album

Didn’t know Joni was experimental like that- a few misses tho

I have a lot of respect for Joni Mitchell, but I probably wouldn't listen again

This album demands multiple listens. What she has done with this album is quite remarkable.

Beautiful music. What a genius Joni Mitchell is.

Third Joni album and I'm not a fan. I think it's her voice or how she arranges her poetry. It just fails me.

Interesting smooth jazz album. Really surprised me! 3.5 rounded to 4

Not my favorite Joni.

Beautiful as always.

It took til “Don’t interrupt the sorrow” for me to get in to this but then it really struck a chord with me. Joni Mitchell’s voice is really excellent and soothing and once the timing of her words settled in I was hooked. The progressions and instrumentation of the remaining tracks are really excellent and she hits these wonderful minor keys so well. If it wasn’t for the first three tracks which I found jumbled and out of time, this would be a five.

I’m sure JM rocks but seems a bit vanilla in comparison to other similar female artists at the time. Just my opinion!

Deuxième album de Joni Mitchell, j'avais totalement oublié son existence jusqu'à-ce que je vois sa tête en faisant quelques recherches. Pas de Jaco Pastorius à la basse, cette fois-ci et c'est bien dommage, j'avais bien aimé la basse sur Hejira. Enfin bref, comme pour l'album sur lequel j'étais tombé la dernière fois, ça ne m'accroche pas plus que ça, même si je ne peux que reconnaître que la musique est travaillée, un chouïa bizarre de temps en temps (dans le bon sens du terme) et on a droit à des influences jazz franchement pas désagréables. Donc comme la dernière fois : un album auquel je n'accroche pas personnellement, mais je ne peux que reconnaître ses qualités et je comprends tout à fait qu'on puisse être fan.

Mycket behagligt

Lite intressant och fint men inget som riktigt träffade mer än så.

Jodå, rätt fint.

7.5/10

gut

Mit Joni werd ich nicht mehr warm. Klingt alles gleich seicht und langweilig.

Vierte (und letzte) Album von der alten. Reicht dann auch

Unbelievable. What a talent, what a voice. Not even her best album. Unreal

Hugljúf og falleg plata hjá Joni. Hún var alveg með soundið á hreinu. Falleg rödd líka.

Voice isn’t for me

Not my favourite album of hers, but an interesting insight into her creative process.

This was really interesting and unusual, completely not what I thought her music would sound like, overall pretty good at 4 stars.

This is practically prog-Pop, but not in the usual 1975 definition of prog from that time. There are no solos, no 5 minutes intros, no odd-time ostinatos. Everything here serves the song. There is a definite jazz influence here, but more so in the harmonies than instrumentation or feel. Overall, this was more interesting to me than "Blue" which came through a while back. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Una cumbre de sofisticación, audacia vanguardista y madurez lírica que ha envejecido bien como una de las obras más lúcidas e influyentes en la evolución del art-pop y el jazz contemporáneo. En el plano de diseño formal, la producción alcanza un entretejido que da claridad absoluta a una arquitectura sónica compleja y adelantada a su tiempo: la inserción pionera de grabaciones de campo con tambores de Burundi, los sintetizadores Moog y ARP, las sutiles secciones de metales y el virtuosismo armónico del ensamble respiran con una definición espacial impecable, donde cada arreglo ocupa un lugar milimétrico. Joni Mitchell lidera el viaje con una fuerza y calidez interpretativa que transmiten una incontestable autenticidad, imponiendo una autoridad superior al despojarse del confesionalismo complaciente para adoptar el rol de una cronista social implacable. Desde la vibrante energía rítmica de "In France They Kiss on Main Street" y la audacia polirrítmica de "The Jungle Line", hasta la asfixia dorada del tema homónimo "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" y la elegancia sombría de "Edith and the Kingpin", el álbum se consolida como un documento conmovedor, crudo y real que opera como un penetrante y sutil llamado a la conciencia sobre el materialismo deshumanizante, las prisiones afectivas y el vacío espiritual de la vida acomodada. Gracias a su pulso orgánico y a su atmósfera de refinamiento acústico, la obra mantiene una constante sensación de paz y fluidez apta para múltiples usos, destacando como un catalizador ideal para el trabajo creativo, la conducción atenta o para sumergirse en una honda reflexión solitaria.

Eh

Her voice is so relaxing I would like her to sing all of the albums on this list

If you like any song you're in luck, because they are indistinguishable.

beautiful music and lyrics, i need to sit down again and listen more focused

This isn't a bad album, it is varied and Jono has a good voice. But, it has not grabbed me in any way. If I have to pick a song, i'll pick Centrepiece.

Much like the other album of hers on this list that I listened to, the instrumentals were pretty cool and interesting but her voice just ruined it for me. 2/5

I didn't really care for this. Last week I had hejira, which felt like a better album. Not being a native English speaker really hampers the appreciation probably

Its okay, kind of chill, jazzy folky pop. Nothing special, breezy, enjoyable enough.

7/10

6/10

there's better joni mitchell imo

Moj tretji Joni album! Enega sm slabo ocenila, en je pa dobil 5, če se prav spomnim. Tko da, bomo vidl. Začetek ("In France They Kiss on Main Street") mi je obetaven. Hmmmmm. I guess nism the biggest Joni fan. (Razen album Court and Spark, do zdaj.) Kljub temu, da je nek exploration žanrov, se mi še zmer zdi, da je kinda vse isto. Ni mi blo safr poslušat, ampak ni mi pa kj ful izstopal.

Someone there really likes joni haha

Also nice

Sometimes u piss me off joni mitchell

Really enjoyed it, especially the jazz aspects. Not something I would have imagined myself gravitating towards. Faves: Edith and the Kingpin, Title Track, Harry's House Rating: 8.0/10

This doesn’t do it for me…the jungle line really threw me off and I never recovered

Not at all the style I was thinking it would be. It was good, but some of the sounds were jarring based on what I knew about Joni Mitchell going in.

It's alright, not my fave of her albums and no stand out tunes for me

I have always liked her voice but I think that because I have tended to hear the same few songs lots of times, I have probably been a bit dismissive. This was actually far better than I expected, more musically interesting than I assumed it might be.

kind of boring, few solid tracks

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns Joni Mitchell 1975 Genres: Folk, Jazz Styles: Singer Songwriter, Folk Rock, Acoustic, Fusion, Contemporary Jazz 1. In France They Kiss on Main Street (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Tema de apertura, con aire jazz-rock. Habla del despertar sexual y la adolescencia de clase media en un pueblo chico durante los años 50, en paralelo a la explosión del rock & roll. Fue el único single del álbum. 2. The Jungle Line (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Construida sobre un loop de percusión de los Warrior Drums of Burundi. La letra rinde homenaje a la pintura de Henri Rousseau, mezclando esa imaginería "primitiva" con la vida urbana moderna, la industria musical y la cultura de las drogas. Mitchell contó después que al escribirla sentía que canalizaba a un poeta negro hablando de Harlem, contraponiendo lo primitivo con la maquinaria industrial moderna. 3. Edith and the Kingpin (★★⯨☆☆) -Contexto: Relato en clave jazz sobre la llegada de una nueva mujer (la "moll", la pareja) de un gángster a la ciudad donde él manda. 4. Don't Interrupt the Sorrow (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Base de guitarra acústica y letra de flujo de conciencia. Habla de mujeres plantándose frente al dominio masculino y afirmando su propia existencia como individuas, con imaginería mítica (referencias al Edén, lo femenino como fuerza que se levanta). 5. Shades of Scarlett Conquering (★★⯨☆☆) -Contexto: Pieza orquestal sobre una "belle" sureña moderna que arma su vida y su imagen a partir del estereotipo de Scarlett O'Hara, de "Lo que el viento se llevó". 6. The Hissing of Summer Lawns (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Tema que abre el lado B y le da nombre al disco. Retrata a una mujer que decide quedarse en un matrimonio donde es tratada como una posesión más dentro del patrimonio de su marido. 7. The Boho Dance (★★⯨☆☆) -Contexto: Comentario irónico sobre quienes acusan a los artistas de "vender" su integridad al buscar éxito comercial, con guiño a "The Painted Word" de Tom Wolfe. Se lee también como respuesta de la propia Mitchell a quienes le hicieron ese reproche a ella. 8. Harry's House / Centerpiece (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Habla de un matrimonio que se cae a pedazos como ejemplo de la soledad de la vida moderna, y en la segunda mitad cita el standard de jazz "Centerpiece" (de Harry "Sweets" Edison y Jon Hendricks). 9. Sweet Bird (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Tema acústico más despojado, vuelta parcial al estilo "confesional" de sus primeros discos. Trata sobre la pérdida de la belleza y el poder que viene con la edad; el título parece dialogar con "Sweet Bird of Youth" de Tennessee Williams. 10. Shadows and Light (★★⯨☆☆) -Contexto: Cierre del álbum, construido a puro overdub de voces sobre un ARP String Machine, con estructura casi de himno. Es una meditación filosófica sobre la dualidad humana: ceguera y visión, crueldad y placer, lo correcto y lo incorrecto, apuntando también a la hipocresía política y la rigidez moral/religiosa. -TOTAL = ★★⯨☆☆ (2,95) -Debería ser un 3, pero no me generó nada, mucho menos consistencia en la calidad. Para mí es un 2.

Perfectly fine. Maybe a little boring. 3.0

3.6/5.

Not really into all the weird jazzy stuff here.

Another Joni album, so can expect an unique and challenging listening experience. Listened once in the morning, which of course might not be enough to appreciate her work fully but so far I'm leaning to, as before, to 3 stars.

Lyricism and talent. A little soft and one sided, but saved by the creativity.

Mellow. Good to chill out to.