Product Description

A continuing move towards jazz was the most striking element of this record when first released. Larry Carlton and Robben Ford became two names to bandy around and appear cool. Indeed, their guitar playing throughout is superlative. The real strength, however, is the way in which Mitchell reached new plateaux with graceful ease. The remarkable "The Jungle Line" features the drums of Barundi and must be played loud to fully appreciate its avant garde quality. The opening line, "Rousseau walk on trumpet paths", has the listener reaching for the Dictionary Of Art. As understated and lyrically deep as anything she has recorded, it is a stunning piece of work.

Track Listing

1. In France They Kiss On Main Street
2. Jungle Line
3. Edith And The Kingpin
4. Don't Interrupt The Sorrow
5. Shades Of Scarlet Conquering
6. Hissing Of Summer Lawns
7. Boho Dance
8. Harry's House
9. Sweet Bird
10. Shadows And Light

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7187 in Music
• Released on: 1987-10-19
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Court and Spark had earned Joni Mitchell mainstream pop acceptance but its underlying spirit of discovery pushed her to risk new-found success with this edgier, experimental sequel released in 1975. Although the session crew is largely the same, and sleek jazz elements again abound, these songs find her introducing Burundi drums (on "The Jungle Line"), layering magisterial but forbidding vocal harmonies ("Shadows and Light") and casting rueful shadows across the sun-dazed Southern California of the title song. Her daring promptly earned critical scorn and halted her commercial expansion, but the album's confident eclecticism and dark beauty have outlived that reception; from the safety of hindsight, Hissing was a promise to stay hungry and creatively adventurous, a promise kept then and now. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

An album years ahead of its time
Joni fans tend to divide between those those that prefer the naked confessional of 'Blue' and those that regard the jazzy trio of mid-70s albums that comprise 'Court & Spark', 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns' and 'Hejira' to be her creative peak. I'm in the latter category.

I first heard this album in a musical instrument shop. they were playing 'Harry's House' and the line "A helicopter lands on the Pan-Am roof like a dragonfly on a tomb" caused me to ask the staff what it was. Joni's lyrics are cinematic - like little movie pitches - and beautifully evocative of that period. That track and the album's title investigate the dark side of the suburban dream, set to cool jazzy accompaniment that will make everything else you listen to sound crude.

Elsewhere 'The Jungle Line' discovers Burundi drums a good five years before Adam Ant. 'Edith and The Kingpin' has luscious orchestration that seems to literally seduce you and the multi-layered harmonies of 'Shadows & Light' indicate an artist that is at the peak of her game.

The fact that this got lukewarm reviews on its release either shows how clueless some journalists can be or demonstrates how far ahead Joni was. An astonishingly good album.

Career Defining
Along with the more obvious Blue, this is Joni's most career defining record. Whilst the former perfected her internal, almost confessional work, The Hissing of Summer Lawns epitomises her role as observer, or even satirist, and her musicianship. Broadly speaking it is a concept album that juxtaposes the human, the animal, and the spiritual in a dense series of portraits of - mostly - Californian life. Think of David Lynch movies and you get a little bit of an idea - the title refers to the hiss of sprinklers on grass, the keeping up of appearances, repressing of darker desires... you get the picture. Elsewhere she explores drug cultures and exploitation (The Jungle Line and Edith & The Kingpin), suburban desperation (the title track, Harry's House) and ruminates on what it all means (the two closers). Throughout her lyricism, once sparse and raw, is lush and layered with imagery - Shades of Scarlett Conquering (a sharp look at a young socialite) both sounds like something from Hollywood's golden age and looks/reads like it e.g. "with her impossibly gentle hands and her blood red fingernails". The depth of playing with a small team of musicians and engineer Henry Lewy never falters - varyingly paced with layers of latin, jazz, and african influences co-existing alongside Joni's own keyboard and guitar work. It's an album that rewards almost constant playing year on year, never failing to reveal more light, more shade. Not only important for Mitchell but a landmark in modern music.

A World Away....
Joni Mitchell entered the studio to produce " Hissing" on the heels of the well deserved success she enjoyed with " Court and Spark". After years of confessional lyrics, from pastoral reflection ( Ladies of the Canyon") to inside-out musical expression ( the irrefutable "blue"), to more mature searchings on "For the Roses" and C&S, this fan thinks she earned the right to turn the conversation from "I" to "You".

However, when one looks at the lyrics, it's apparent that Mitchell didn't turn the lens away from herself altogther. In fact, she seems to be analyzing the decadence she finds herself a part of, or at least in a position to examine by proximity.

" In France They Kiss on the Main Street" is a delightful ode to early rock and roll, the images of 50's youth steaming in the dance halls and pool rooms. " The Jungle Line" is a pioneer in world music, long before Paul Simon, Sting or Peter Gabrielle thought to incorporate these elements( while these men are fine artists). The portrait ties primitive artist Rousseau's work to modern day colors, showing the similarities and differences between societie's ills and excess.

"Edith and the Kingpin", as well as "Shades of Scarlett Conquering" offer character studies of malice, while " Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "Harry's House/Centerpiece" give two versions of the male/female drama, each with different results. "Harry's House" is, perhaps, the best song ever about the elusive nature of the fairy tale dreams most are sold. Men and women are skewered equally for superficial desires and complicit provocation.

Upon looking at the album as a concept, it is obvious that the arc involves manipulation and exploitation, with women being at the center of many of these songs, either as victim, perpetrator, or both. Religious symbolism abounds. Full attention is required to absorb the depth of this release.

The juxtaposition between the promise of the "dream" and the courage it takes to defy prescribed roles make this a great entree into 70's culture. Ahead of its time, "Hissing" changes the formula, but doesn't artistic license allow for this?