Joni Mitchell: The Hissing Of Summer Lawns (LP)

This album, released in 1975, clearly showed that Joni Mitchell was searching for new musical horizons and sounds. "Sandwiched" between her biggest commercial success "Court and Spark" and the masterpiece "Hejira", "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns" went down a bit then as now. Unjustly, the album contains some of their best songs ever. The very pleasing (and sometimes criticized as too smooth and American) production strongly reminds of "Court and Spark". With electric guitars, electric pianos and background vocals in the back, the result is a very compact and almost poppy sound, which stands in an exciting contrast to the usual complex song structures and the differentiated lyrics. The opener introduces the album in a straightforward relaxed way. "Edith And The Kingpin" is a classic Mitchell in a soft easy listening sound with beautiful horn and choir parts. "Dont Interrupt The Sorrow" puts the exquisite guitar playing front and center, anticipating the mood of "Hejira" with its brittle melody and vibrant instrumentation. "Shades Of Scarlet Conquering" is certainly one of the most beautiful J. Mitchell songs ever. Smooth and exquisitely underscored with strings, the lyrics shine an intense light into the inner life of a woman. The title track is unusually groovy and elegant, but with lyrics that get under your skin. "Boho Dance" , complex in structure and bitingly frank in lyrics, dresses itself in a beautiful horn riff. "Harry's House" indulges in a charming excursion into the jazz standard "Centerpiece." In the context of the body of work as a whole, this album represents a break in that it finally says goodbye to the hippiesque and, at times, upbeat and spun-out vibe of the earlier albums. The tone is calmer, more transfigured, relaxed and adult. This is also reflected in the deeper timbre of the singer.