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With 1974's Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell had ascended from top-tier Laurel Canyon icon into the uncomfortably rarified air of superstardom, with the omnipresent radio success of "Help Me" bringing her unique creative vision into the AM radios and console stereos of Middle America. Of course, Mitchell being Mitchell, her response was to follow up that success with a live album, Miles of Aisles, that emphasized Court's jazzier influences (and gave front-cover credit to the fusion group, L.A. Express, that helped realize them) and then a studio album that pushed her even further away from the soft-pop/singer-songwriter reputation she had among more casual fans. The Hissing of Summer Lawns is, to be blunt, the place where Joni Mitchell looked stardom in the eye and decided she would much prefer seeing how far she could push herself creatively. She is unapologetic, and absolutely forward-facing throughout, utilizing technology (the loops and samples on "The Jungle Line," the ARP string machine on "Shadows and Light") and the considerable chops of some of L.A.'s best musicians (members of L.A. Express, along with similarly jazz-oriented session players like Victor Feldman, Larry Carlton, and Joe Sample) to realize the complex sonic constructions she envisioned to complement her lyrics.
The result is a piece of work that combines highly evocative lyrics, dense rhythms, and an organic spaciousness. Hissing utterly defines the possibilities of a musician fully realizing their inspiration, much in the same way Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life would a year later. Unlike Key of Life, though, Mitchell's work was greeted with near-hostility by contemporaneous critics, who would have much preferred she stay in her confessional folksy lane. And while many folks latched onto the album's "jazzy" elements, this is still very much a pop record. Sure, the structures are more open-ended than a typical verse-chorus-verse pop song, but this is not improvisational jazz. Joni Mitchell has always been an architect of songs, and the works here are all meticulously constructed. (And in several instances—"Edith and the Kingpin" or "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow"—he open-chord guitar work and gentle melodies would not have been out of place on earlier albums.) Still, there is a rich, lived-in warmth to the instrumentation here (which positively blossoms in contemporary hi-res masterings), and the interplay between Mitchell's evocative lyricism and the rich sonic tapestry created by all the players (including Mitchell herself) makes for a dazzling listening session. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
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David Crosby, Backing Vocals - Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Victor Feldman, Piano - JOHN GUERIN, Drums - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - JAMES TAYLOR, Backing Vocals - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - JEFF BAXTER, Electric Guitar - Graham nash, Backing Vocals - Max Bennett, Bass Guitar - Robben Ford, Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, Synthesizer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
WILTON FELDER, Bass Guitar - Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Chuck Findley, Horn - JOHN GUERIN, Drums - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - JOE SAMPLE, Electric Piano - Bud Shank, Flute, Saxophone - LARRY CARLTON, Electric Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
WILTON FELDER, Bass Guitar - Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Victor Feldman, Congas Drums - JOHN GUERIN, Drums - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - LARRY CARLTON, Electric Guitar - Robben Ford, Dobro - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Victor Feldman, Piano, Vibraphone - JOHN GUERIN, Drums - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Piano, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - Max Bennett, Bass Guitar - Dale Oehler, String Arranger - LARRY CARLTON, Electric Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Victor Feldman, Keyboards, Percussion - Chuck Findley, Trumpet - JOHN GUERIN, Drums, Writer, Synthesizer - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - JAMES TAYLOR, Acoustic Guitar - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - Bud Shank, Flute, Saxophone - Max Bennett, Bass Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Chuck Findley, Flugelhorn - JOHN GUERIN, Drums - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - Bud Shank, Flute - Max Bennett, Bass Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Chuck Findley, Trumpet - JOHN GUERIN, Drums - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - JOE SAMPLE, Keyboards - Jon Hendricks, Writer - Graham nash, Backing Vocals - Max Bennett, Bass Guitar - Harry Edison, Writer - Robben Ford, Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - LARRY CARLTON, Electric Guitar - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Bernie Grundman, MasteringEngineer - Henry Lewy, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Joni Mitchell, Producer, Organ, Vocals, Writer, Synthesizer, MainArtist, MixingEngineer - Ellis Sorkin, AssistantEngineer
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Warner Records Inc.
Album review
With 1974's Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell had ascended from top-tier Laurel Canyon icon into the uncomfortably rarified air of superstardom, with the omnipresent radio success of "Help Me" bringing her unique creative vision into the AM radios and console stereos of Middle America. Of course, Mitchell being Mitchell, her response was to follow up that success with a live album, Miles of Aisles, that emphasized Court's jazzier influences (and gave front-cover credit to the fusion group, L.A. Express, that helped realize them) and then a studio album that pushed her even further away from the soft-pop/singer-songwriter reputation she had among more casual fans. The Hissing of Summer Lawns is, to be blunt, the place where Joni Mitchell looked stardom in the eye and decided she would much prefer seeing how far she could push herself creatively. She is unapologetic, and absolutely forward-facing throughout, utilizing technology (the loops and samples on "The Jungle Line," the ARP string machine on "Shadows and Light") and the considerable chops of some of L.A.'s best musicians (members of L.A. Express, along with similarly jazz-oriented session players like Victor Feldman, Larry Carlton, and Joe Sample) to realize the complex sonic constructions she envisioned to complement her lyrics.
The result is a piece of work that combines highly evocative lyrics, dense rhythms, and an organic spaciousness. Hissing utterly defines the possibilities of a musician fully realizing their inspiration, much in the same way Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life would a year later. Unlike Key of Life, though, Mitchell's work was greeted with near-hostility by contemporaneous critics, who would have much preferred she stay in her confessional folksy lane. And while many folks latched onto the album's "jazzy" elements, this is still very much a pop record. Sure, the structures are more open-ended than a typical verse-chorus-verse pop song, but this is not improvisational jazz. Joni Mitchell has always been an architect of songs, and the works here are all meticulously constructed. (And in several instances—"Edith and the Kingpin" or "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow"—he open-chord guitar work and gentle melodies would not have been out of place on earlier albums.) Still, there is a rich, lived-in warmth to the instrumentation here (which positively blossoms in contemporary hi-res masterings), and the interplay between Mitchell's evocative lyricism and the rich sonic tapestry created by all the players (including Mitchell herself) makes for a dazzling listening session. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:42:39
- Main artists: Joni Mitchell
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rhino - Elektra
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records. ℗ 1974 Elektra/Asylum Records, manufactured and marketed by Rhino Entertainment, a Warner Music Group company
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