Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)

I recently told a buddy from high school, "I've finally reached a point where I dig some of Joni Mitchell's music." His response was "I've been unable to make that leap yet" which is a perfectly valid response and I've probably said something similar at some point. But this album title was just too attractive to me (see personal memory, below) so when I was lucky enough to find a used copy of this album awhile back, I didn't hesitate. I've been listening to it fairly regularly since its purchase. I don't really understand it, but I love it and I'm sorry it took me so long to delve into the thing. Repeated active listening is greatly rewarded.

And the backing musicians are top-shelf: Robben Ford, Victor Feldman, Larry Carlton, Wilton Felder, Joe Sample, Graham Nash, Chuck Findley, James Taylor, et. al.

Mitchell was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the album, eventually losing to Linda Ronstadt for her album Hasten Down The Wind. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at number 258 in the 2020 edition of its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (Mitchell’s 1971 release Blue came in at #3, Hejira ranked #133, and Court and Spark is #110). 258 sounds about right to me. In the book 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die (2005), Louise Sugrue writes that the album is "as baffling as it is beautiful" and I'll just leave it at that.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "probably her most consistent effort yet"
• CashBox: "This is an album of definite progression"
• Rolling Stone: "a great collection of pop poems with a distracting soundtrack"
• Record World: "allow yourself to be engulfed by it"
• Stereo Review: "you'll have to deal with it privately, as you would read a book"
• Robert Christgau (B): "Mitchell's transition from great songwriter to not-bad poet is meeting resistance from her talent and good sense, but I guess you can't fight 'progress.'"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #4
• CashBox: #5

Tracks: from Joni's liner notes:

This record is a total work conceived graphically, musically, lyrically and accidentally - as a whole. The performances were guided by the given compositional structures and the audibly inspired beauty of every player. The whole unfolded like a mystery. It is not my intention to unravel that mystery for anyone, but rather to offer some additional clues:

"Centerpiece" is a Johnny Mandel-Jon Hendricks tune. John Guerin and I collaborated on "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns." "The Boho Dance" is a Tom Wolfe-ism from the book, "The Painted Word." The poem, "Don't Interrupt The Sorrow" was born around 4 a.m. in a New York loft. Larry Poons seeded it and Bobby Neuwirth was midwife here, but the child filtered thru Genesis at Jackson Lake, Saskatchewan, is rebellious and mystical and insists that its conception was immaculate.

The closest thing to a 'hit single' was the album's lead track, In France They Kiss On Main Street, which peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #32 on the Easy Listening chart. In addition to that cut, my other top picks are Edith And The Kingpin, Shades Of Scarlett Conquering, and Harry's House/Centerpiece. I'm not wild about The Jungle Line and its aggressive Moog sounds and "warrior drums of Burundi," mostly because it doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. Regardless, I've got no problem playing the thing from top-to-bottom as intended by the artist.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'll confess that I was drawn to this album more for its title than its reputation. I grew up in the Chihuahuan Desert and on still summer days it seemed that the grass actually hissed due to the hot, arid air. I know that I'm just nostalgic for my younger days but with rich lyrics like this how can I resist:

See the blue pools in the squinting sun
And hear the hissing of summer lawns.

My mind spends a lot of time in 1975, so this relaxing, folky music is a welcome addition to the soundtrack of my daydreams. With a forecast of 104° and a heat index of 107° today, I'll have no problem finding some hissing lawns this afternoon.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Blue (1971)