The Hissing Of Summer Lawns (studio album)
by Joni Mitchell
eBay
Condition: Used
eBay
Condition: Used
Joni Mitchell bestography
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns is ranked 4th best out of 37 albums by Joni Mitchell on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Joni Mitchell is Blue which is ranked number 69 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 16,174.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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The Hissing Of Summer Lawns track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns rankings
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seb7The Hissing Of Summer Lawns collection
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The Hissing Of Summer Lawns ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 417 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 37 hours ago |  zags7000 | 20,410 | 64/100 |
| ! | 12/12/2025 19:15 | Tony58 | 735 | 72/100 |
| ! | 12/07/2025 03:24 | Exist-en-ciel | 3,971 | 70/100 |
| ! | 12/05/2025 00:22 | bonnequestion | 1,589 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/30/2025 23:53 | subnam | 45 | 42/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.1/100, a mean average of 79.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.4.
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns favourites
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The Hissing Of Summer Lawns comments
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HoldenM 08/11/2025 14:55 | #310508
Just a face-melter, as far as I'm concerned. Right when you think you've got this album pegged, it takes a sublime hairpin turn into something else. Joni Mitchell has always had a penchant for songwriting infused with classical and jazz movement, but this is something else entirely. Has anyone used a synthesizer quite like this? Has anyone blended so many disparate styles and gotten results that teemed with so much tender feeling? How do so many massive swings hit so hard on one album? I don't know if I love this as much as Blue and its effortless mastery, but it comes damn close.
Hissing is the midway point between Court and Spark and Hejira. It is not quite as perfect as those albums but it comes pretty close. I find some of it a litle too ponderous (Edith and the Kingpin) and trying (The Jungle Line), but most of the songs are strong and Harry's House/Centerpiece is wonderful.
This is the album that got me into Joni. Before this I had only heard the singles big yellow taxi and raised on robbery. Heard the opening track of THOSL on capital radio a few times and I was impressed with it.. Then one Sunday night Radio 3 (!) played about 4 other tracks and I was captivated. The music was unlike anything I'd heard before- a kind of progressive jazz/folk. Lyrically and musically unique, and brilliant.
Great singing, but songs are not as good as I expected.
VictorVale 04/08/2022 18:27 | #283935
Lindo e uma delicadíssima pegada de jazz!
Went through a Joni phase and played this a lot but Hejira also deserves a mention.
The two great documents of the 70's as a decade are this and "Manhattan." A superb album, and if you are having trouble finding a song to go back to, try "The Jungle Line." I can listen to her sing "mouthpiece spit" again and again.
Jboy56 12/14/2021 17:01 | #277485
A grandiose and seminal album from the song factory of Joni Mitchell. This is not pop, but rock and art.
So difficult to categorize her works, but this is challenging to most, therefore the lousy reviews. I bet that ROLLING STONE has changed its mind thereafter.
very original a prog feel to it with deep bases and great melody and lyrics
Definitely a essential Joni Mitchell album the more you listen to it , the better it gets. Not a weak track on it. Favourites tracks are title track, track4 track 8.
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