The Hissing of Summer Lawns
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| The Hissing of Summer Lawns | ||
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| Studio album by Joni Mitchell | ||
| Released | November 1975 | |
| Recorded | ??? | |
| Genre | Folk-rock, Jazz | |
| Length | 42:34 | |
| Label | Asylum | |
| Producer(s) | Joni Mitchell | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Joni Mitchell chronology | ||
| Miles of Aisles (1974) | The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) | Hejira (1976)
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The Hissing of Summer Lawns is Joni Mitchell's album of 1975. Fans and critics regard this as an artistic turning point, and the beginning of her unique blend of folk, jazz and rock. The musician line-up for the album includes members of the L.A. Express and the Jazz Crusaders. "In France They Kiss on Main Street" became a live staple and "Shadows and Light" was used as the title for a live album released in 1980.
Leaving behind the homogeneity of Court and Spark, this record finds Joni branching out in a number of directions. Every song is different to the previous one and while many of these experiments work splendidly, it can be a difficult album to listen to.
"In France They Kiss on Main Street", the starter, could almost be from the last studio album, a straight-ahead jazz-rock song of small-town romance. The song was released as the single from the album and reached #66 on the Billboard charts. "The Jungle Line" borrows a field recording from Africa of the Warrior Drums of Burundi, onto which Joni dubs guitar, synthesizer and her vocal line. The African theme is continued on the album sleeve, with an image of natives carrying a huge captured snake, superimposed on the Beverly Hills suburbs. Joni's own house is marked in blue on the back cover.
"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 which is almost a stream-of-consciousness flow of a woman's state of mind after a few glasses of wine.
"Shades of Scarlett Conquering" is an orchestral based piece about a southern belle, finishing with the line 'A woman must have everything'! " The title track is about a woman who is being treated as part of her husband's portfolio, and "The Boho Dance" comments on people who feel that artists sell out their "purity" for commercial success with an ironic glance at those who said this of Joni herself. "Harry's House/Centerpiece" concerns a failing marriage, and includes an old-school jazz central section. "Sweet Bird" is a sparse and beautiful acoustic track, that is a slight return to Joni's more confessional singer-songwriter style. It works as a transition from the jazziness of the rest of the album into the sparse arrangement of "Shadows and Light", consisting of multiple overdubs of her voice and an ARP String Machine (credited as an ARP-Farfisa on the album sleeve) playing mostly the low notes that Joni can't reach, plus a few occasional.
This is a complex album which may only slip into focus after many listens. The songs do not have the hooks of earlier work, and despite the album attaining initial commercial success, reaching #4 on the charts and quickly going gold, contemporary reviewers were not kind. However, it is now generally accepted to be a strong album which deserves credit for bravery and eclecticism.
Prince once remarked that The Hissing of Summer Lawns was "the last album [he] loved all the way through" at the time of the interview, a 1985 Rolling Stone article. [1] The album is number 90 on the German Spex magazine's list of the 100 best albums of the 20th century.
[edit] Track listing
- "In France They Kiss on Main Street" – 3:19
- "The Jungle Line" – 4:25
- "Edith and the Kingpin" – 3:38
- "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" – 4:05
- "Shades of Scarlett Conquering" – 4:59
- "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" – 3:01
- "The Boho Dance" – 3:48
- "Harry's House/Centerpiece" – 6:48
- "Sweet Bird" – 4:12
- "Shadows and Light" – 4:19
- Joni Michell : vocals, acoustic guitar (01,02,03,04,09), Moog (02), piano (05,09), keyboards (07), Arp (10), Farisa (10)
- Graham Nash : background vocals (01)
- Davis Crosby : background vocals (01)
- James Taylor : background vocals (01), guitar (06)
- Robben Ford : electric guitar (01), dobro (04), guitar (08)
- Jeff Buxter : electric guitar (01)
- Larry Carlton : electric guitar (03,04,05,09)
- Victor Feldman : electric piano (01,05), congas (04), vibes (05), keyboards (06), percussion (06)
- Joe Sample : electric piano (03), keyboards (08)
- John Guerin : drums (01,03,04,05,06,07,08), arrangement (06), Moog (06)
- Max Bennett : bass (01,05,06,07,08)
- Wilton Felder : bass (03,04)
- The Warrior drums of Burundi (02)
- Chuck Findley : horn (03), trumpet (06,08), flugelhorn (07)
- Bud Shank : sax and flute (03,06), bass flute (07)
- Dale Oehler : sting arrangement (05)
- Henry Lewy : producer and engineer
- Ellis Sorkin : engineer and assistant engineerit:The Hissing of Summer Lawns
