The Hissing of Summer Lawns is the seventh studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in November 1975 on Asylum Records. It continues the jazz-influenced sound of Mitchell's previous album, Court and Spark, with more unconventional and experimental material. It features synthesizers such as the Moog and ARP, sampling, backing from the jazz-rock groups the L.A. Express and the Jazz Crusaders, and contributions from James Taylor, David Crosby, and Graham Nash.
The lyrics focus on women's experiences with patriarchal norms, male dominance, and suburban life, as well as on culture and the music industry. As with many of her albums, Mitchell created the cover art. It depicts a painting of a group of men carrying a large snake superimposed over the Beverly Hills suburbs; Mitchell's house is shaded in blue.
While it did not spawn a major hit single like its predecessor, The Hissing of Summer Lawns reached number 4 in the US and remains Mitchell's last top-10 album. "In France They Kiss on Main Street", the only single, reached number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Hissing of Summer Lawns initially received negative reviews, with critics finding the jazz stylings a disservice to Mitchell's lyrics and comparing it negatively to Court and Spark. However, it later became one of her most acclaimed works. It appeared at number 258 in Rolling Stones 2020 edition of its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and at number 217 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums in 2000.
Background
The slick jazz-pop sound Mitchell developed on Court and Spark (1974) would be pushed into more adventurous territory on The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Some tracks reflect a fusion of jazz and "shimmering avant-pop".
On "The Jungle Line", Mitchell is credited with the first commercially released song to include a sample, featuring a looped recording of percussion by the African ensemble the Drummers of Burundi. This interest in world music presaged the work of Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon in subsequent years.
Songs
The first track, "In France They Kiss on Main Street", is a jazz-rock song about coming of age in a small town in the 1950s rock & roll era. (The song was released as the single from the album and reached number 66 on the Billboard charts.) "The Jungle Line" uses a field recording from Africa of the Drummers of Burundi (called 'warrior drums' in the credits), onto which are dubbed guitar, Moog synthesizer and the vocal line. The lyrics pay homage to the works of the French Post-Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau. Mitchell blends details of his works with imagery of modern city life, the music industry and the underground drug culture.
"Edith and the Kingpin" marks a return to jazz in a story of a gangster's new moll arriving in his home town. "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" is an acoustic guitar-based song with stream-of-consciousness lyrics, focused on women standing up to male dominance and proclaiming their own existence as individuals. "Shades of Scarlett Conquering" is an orchestral-based piece about a modern southern belle basing her life and self-image on the stereotypes of the Scarlett O'Hara character from Gone with the Wind.
The second side begins with the title track, "The Hissing of Summer Lawns", which is about a woman who chooses to stay in a marriage where she is treated as part of her husband's portfolio. "The Boho Dance" comments on people who feel that artists betray their artistic integrity for commercial success, with an ironic glance at those who said this of Mitchell herself and parallels Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word.
| rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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| rev5 = Pitchfork
| rev5score = 10/10
| rev6 = Rolling Stone
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| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
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| rev9 = Martin C. Strong
| rev9score = 8/10
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The album initially received harsh criticism. In Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden wrote that the album's lyrics were impressive but the music was a failure. "If The Hissing of Summer Lawns offers substantial literature, it is set to insubstantial music... Four members of Tom Scott's L.A. Express are featured on Hissing, but their uninspired jazz-rock style completely opposes Mitchell's romantic style... The Hissing of Summer Lawns is ultimately a great collection of pop poems with a distracting soundtrack. Read it first. Then play it." Prince, a lifelong fan of Mitchell, praised it in interviews; he reportedly called it "the last album I loved all the way through." Critic Jessica Hopper of Pitchfork noted that the album was originally felt as a betrayal by some listeners, but stated that while "it doesn't have the rhapsodic rep as Blue, it's unquestionably one of Mitchell's finest albums, and it is certainly her most timeless." The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. in 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 258 in the 2020 edition of its 500 greatest albums of all time.
Track listing
Personnel
Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.
- Joni Mitchell – vocals, acoustic guitar (tracks 1–4, 9), Moog (2), piano (5, 9), keyboards (7), ARP and Farfisa (10)
- Victor Feldman – electric piano (1, 5), congas (4), vibes (5), keyboards and percussion (6)
- Joe Sample – electric piano (3), keyboards (8)
- Larry Carlton – electric guitar (3–5, 9)
- Robben Ford – electric guitar (1), Dobro (4), guitar (8)
- Jeff Baxter – electric guitar (1)
- James Taylor – background vocals (1), guitar (6)
- David Crosby and Graham Nash – background vocals (1)
- Max Bennett – bass guitar (1, 5–8)
- Wilton Felder – bass guitar (3, 4)
- John Guerin – drums (except 2), Moog and arrangement (6)
- The Warrior Drums of Burundi (2)
- Chuck Findley – horn (3), trumpet (6, 8), flugelhorn (7)
- Bud Shank – saxophone and flute (3, 6), bass flute (7)
- Dale Oehler – string arrangement (5)
Technical
- Joni Mitchell – producer, cover design, illustration
- Henry Lewy – engineer, mix with Mitchell
- Ellis Sorkin – assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Joe Gastwirt – re-mastered at Ocean View Digital Mastering in W. Los Angeles for 1997 HDCD release
- Norman Seeff – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Weekly chart performance for The Hissing of Summer Lawns
! scope="col"| Chart (1975–1976)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 62
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| US Cash Box Top 100 Albums
|align="center"| 5
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Weekly chart performance for The Hissing of Summer Lawns Vinyl Reissue
! scope="col"| Chart (2024)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Year-end chart performance for The Hissing of Summer Lawns
!Chart (1976)
!Position
|-
! scope="row"| Canada (RPM)
|align="center"|58
|}