Customer Reviews
An album years ahead of its time - By: Jeffrey M. Black, 14 Sep 2008 
Joni fans tend to divide between those those that prefer the naked confessional of 'Blue' & those that regard the jazzy trio of mid-70s albums that comprise 'Court & Spark', 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns' & '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' & 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 - & beautifully evocative of that period. That track & 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 & The Kingpin' has luscious orchestration that seems to literallly seduce you & 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 - By: T. Edwards, 01 Oct 2007 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, & her musicianship. Broadly speaking it is a concept album that juxtaposes the human, the animal, & the spiritual in a dense series of portraits of - mostly - Californian life. Think of David Lynch movies & 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 & exploitation (The Jungle Line & Edith & The Kingpin), suburban desperation (the title track, Harry's House) & ruminates on what it alll means (the two closers). Throughout her lyricism, once sparse & raw, is lush & layered with imagery - Shades of Scarlett Conquering (a sharp look at a young socialite) both sounds like something from Hollywood's golden age & looks/reads like it e.g. "with her impossibly gentle hands & her blood red fingernails". The depth of playing with a smalll team of musicians & engineer Henry Lewy never falters - varyingly paced with layers of latin, jazz, & african influences co-existing alongside Joni's own keyboard & 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.... - By: Shannon Freeman, 30 Apr 2007 Joni Mitchell entered the studio to produce " Hissing" on the heels of the well deserved success she enjoyed with " Court & 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" & 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 & roll, the images of 50's youth steaming in the dance hallls & 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 & differences between societie's ills & excess.
"Edith & the Kingpin", as well as "Shades of Scarlett Conquering" offer character studies of malice, while " Hissing of Summer Lawns" & "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 & women are skewered equallly for superficial desires & complicit provocation.
Upon looking at the album as a concept, it is obvious that the arc involves manipulation & 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" & 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 alllow for this?
Ah, Joni! - By: A. Miller, 02 Nov 2006 This was Melody Maker's album of the year in 1975 or thereabouts, so I bought it, played it twice & put it aside as rather uninteresting. Oh foolish youth, I fortunately did not take it down the local student-fund-raising second-hand store, but listened again & became graduallly entranced by the melodic & lyrical flair contained therein. Barely a poor moment (the Jungle Line - sorry! - the Centrepiece interlude & Shadows & Light don't sit well with the rest, just to be picky) - the good stuff just keeps on coming. In France they Kiss... followed by [er...OK, where's that skip button!] then Edith ... Don't Interrupt ... Shades of Scarlett ... Hissing ... Boho Dance ... Harry's House... Sweet Bird.... The rest are perfectly fine, but those 8 are sublime, 30+ years on.
I have failed in my attempts to get friends to love this, but I sometimes sit after everyone has gone to bed with a glass of wine, & walllow in the combination of current appreciation & nostalgic association which old favourites engender. Sigh!
Instantly Likeable! - By: Michael Bermingham, 27 Aug 2006 I bought this album just a month ago & I can say its rapidly becoming one of my alll time favourites.The only regret is I remember having it in my hand in the seventies & for some reason I didn't buy it at the time...my loss.
From the first play I found it totallly catchy & instantly likeable.Unlike some albums that take some time to 'grow' on you this one is an immediate winner.Opening with the beautiful 'In France They Kiss On Main Street' the album just gets better as it flows along.Joni's shrewd observation of L.A. life in the seventies is still as relevant to-day as then.Unlike some other reviewers I reallly like 'The Jungle Line' track with its wonderful drumming.Every time I hear it I almost expect Paul Simon to start singing as its very similar to some of his best work.'Edith And The Kingpin' is also a marvellous track.I could go on about other individual tracks but theres reallly no point as they are alll sublime.
Since buying this a month back I have now bought two other Joni albums, 'Clouds' & 'Court And Spark', both also excellent.This one however is an ideal place to start your 'Joni' journey....
