The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Not the best Joni Mitchel but still decent

Joni + jazz? Just such a chill, mellow relaxing record.

I had Joni come up on the list 2 days running so I left this a couple of days just so as not to over-joni myself. I gave the last one a 4. But this is even better so I have nowhere else to go other than 5.

I’m a big fan of Joni, especially her pre-1980s work. Hot take, I know.

I think this album is great. It’s a 4 among a bunch of 5s. If I were making this list and was being selfish, I’d include this too. If I were being objective, I’d probably include 3 or 4 Joni albums, and this wouldn’t make the cut.

The accompanying music didn't do much for me but Joni has an amazing soulful voice which demands attention. Favorite track: The Hissing of Summer Lawns

The instrumentation on this is pretty good for folk music (although the bar to clear is on the floor for folk). Her repetitive way of singing her poetic lyrics (or stupid lyrics, depending on your perspective) is supremely annoying and had me wishing she would change her delivery by the 8th track - which she thankfully did. Overall, the jazzier bits are enjoyable, even if they're very basic jazz bits, and there is enough variety to make this listenable.

3.0/5.0: Good

much more interesting than the first joni album we had

Not as arresting as some of her other work but did like the electronic elements of this

4/5. Though a folk artist, Joni Mitchell always took a lot of influence from jazz music and this record is where that influence shines most, creating a nice and breezy album that blends together folk, jazz and synths along with other elements. And this new sound immediately shows itself on the opening song “in France they kiss on Main Street” with its great bass-lines and slight time signature changes. And it’s a great tone setter for the rest of the album which also showcases Joni playing with new sounds while not sacrificing her musical personality. Great listen and like a lot of Joni Mitchell’s 70’s run, essential folk.

Phew, what a load of crap. I tried listening to a Joni Mitchell album again. And once again, I gave up. I don't like her voice, I don't like the arrangements, and I especially don't like this shallow pop music. I still don't understand what's so great about Joni Mitchell. 1/5

I love Blue and if you told me that Joni went into jazzy soft rock later I'd be pretty excited but unfortunately it just didn't fully click, I did like a few songs though

Listening to The Hissing of Summer Lawns is a revelation for me, it feels less like a collection of songs and more like listening to art. Joni Mitchell has created an avant-garde masterpiece that pushes into a lush, experimental jazz-fusion landscape, using unconventional tools like the Moog synthesizer and Burundi drum samples on "The Jungle Line" to stay decades ahead of her time. The album's brilliance lies in its dense complexity, where tracks like "Harry’s House / Centerpiece" feel structurally astounding while maintaining a deep, poetic vulnerability. To me, this is Joni at the peak of her musicianship, boldly shedding her old skin to deliver her most incisive and sophisticated work.

This is by no means bad. Actually it's pretty good, musically speaking. Some very interesting choices going on. I enjoyed it but not as much as other things on this list. Not exactly my cup of tea that much.

Just boring as hell. Not much more I can say.

Joni continues to be the only singer associated with the folk movement that I seem to enjoy. Though, this album is a little unconventional and I’m not sure I'd even really consider it folk. Experimental Moog work on Jungle Line is so cool.

A prime candidate to lend further credence to the argument that more than two or three selections per artist are unnecessary. Hejira, Court and Spark and Blue are plenty enough representation for Joni Mitchell, where this album offers little that the other three don't, despite being a broadly enjoyable listen.

Meanwhile, we have barely any extreme metal artists represented aside from one first wave black metal band in Venom, Sepultura and Napalm Death, a criminal lack of classical music, only a surface level assessment of industrial and noise rock, a very anglo-centric view of punk and a disproportionate amount of newer albums from 2010 onwards that largely lean into similar genres.

Have been listening to this album for 10 years or so now. It's great, but not quite as good as Heijira, Blue or C&S in my opinion. Very ahead of it's time in a lof of ways. The only thing I don't love about it is that some of the lyrics are a bit too dense. The music and melodies are excellent though! 8/10

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns is a pretty good album. It definitely does feel a little more experimental than Mitchell's other albums, almost like a precursor to the new-wave album she made that didn't seem to be well received. This album does seem to follow the typical Joni Mitchell staples that the others all follow. The songwriting here isn't as strong as some of her other albums but i would say that the music here is one of her stronger works. There was that one track where it had a bongo and also bleeps and bloops that sounded like they are from video games that wouldn't release until years later. It may not be my favorite album by Mitchell but its still a good one to go out on.
Best Song: The Jungle Line
Worst Song: Sweet Bird
Side note: Since this will be the last Joni Mitchell album I'm reviewing, I'll rank them here:
1. Blue
2. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
3. Hejira
4. Court And Spark

great album

Avant-garde jazz-fusion Joni Mitchell?! Hell yeah!

Dull. Not much more needs to be said.