20th November 1968: Portrait of American musician Joni Mitchell seated on the floor with her ... [+]
Joni Mitchell has largely stopped making music, but her art isn’t done impacting huge groups of people. While she still performs live from time to time, fans shouldn’t expect much in the way of new tunes and albums. In lieu of upcoming releases, her following has instead turned to supporting her older collections, and anytime there’s another reason to revisit her past work, they do so.
One of Mitchell’s earlier albums debuts on two Billboard charts this week. The title reached other rankings decades ago, but now it’s landed on a pair for the first time, as the singer-songwriter’s fan base is apparently still eager to get their hands on anything connected to the Grammy winner.
The Hissing of Summer Lawns recently experienced a massive sales growth from one week to the next. Mitchell’s project sold just under 3,600 copies in the past tracking frame, according to Luminate. That number is up nearly 11,900% from the period before, when it sold just double-digit copies.
That sales spike helps The Hissing of Summer Lawns reach two tallies for the first time. It opens at No. 19 on the Top Album Sales chart this frame. The title performs even better on the Vinyl Albums ranking, where it starts at No. 6.
Representatives for Mitchell point to a recent Vinyl Me, Please promotion, which seems to be responsible for the musician’s comeback. The Hissing of Summer Lawns was offered for sale on vinyl—as the company’s name suggests—for subscribers only. That promotion reportedly sold around 3,600 copies, according to Vinyl Me, Please.
The Hissing of Summer Lawns was initially released in 1975. Mitchell’s seventh full-length was well-received, and it was another commercial success for her at an important time in her career. The title followed Court & Spark, which took her to new heights when it settled at No. 2.
Mitchell peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with The Hissing of Summer Lawns. The two rankings it debuts on this week didn’t exist at the time, so, like many other older projects, it only stands a shot at debuting if a special circumstance brings it back to prominence—such as a new sale on vinyl.
Note: This article originally stated the wrong peak position for both The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Court & Spark on the Billboard 200. They have been updated.