Studio Masters

Janis Ian – Stars (Remastered) (1974/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 35:25 minutes | 1,45 GB | Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Music CG

After a three-year (1971-1974) hiatus, singer/songwriter Janis Ian (guitar/vocals) reinvented her craft on the groundbreaking Stars (1974) long-player. Her penchant for hauntingly beautiful melodies and incisive lyrics remains at the center of Ian’s craft as she weaves an array of uniquely expressive observations with timeless poignancy. She has publicly acknowledged that the introspective title track that opens the album was inspired by Don McLean’s “Vincent.” Ian’s reflections are almost naked in their intimacy as she looks within the psyche of celebrity and draws comparisons between the respective astral and physical bodies that “Stars” inhabit, albeit briefly in either case. The song’s sparse acoustic guitar self-accompaniment is somewhat an anomaly as the remainder of the album incorporates various backing combos. The cosy and laid-back “Page Nine” demonstrates a jazzier side to Ian’s arrangements and features some inviting contributions from percussion legend and studio heavyweight George Devens (vibraphone), who had been performing in Ian’s studio coterie since her second release, For All the Seasons of Your Mind (1967). “The Man You Are in Me” is instrumentally highlighted by Richard Davis (bass), who impels the rhythm and provides Ian with a sonic backdrop beguiling the listener into its practically hypnotic melody. There is also a fair share of folk-infused material, ranging from the easygoing and heartfelt peon “Thankyous” to the decidedly more political and strident “Dance with Me” which deals fairly directly with the Vietnam experience. Perhaps the best-known cut on Stars also obliquely references the war and is considered the disc’s crown jewel. “Jessie” is a riveting love song that is as beautiful as it is soul-wrenchingly poignant. The delicate understated score only adds to the composition’s empathy. “Applause” fittingly concludes the effort in a Broadway-esque fashion with a grandiose production reminiscent of something out of Cabaret or A Chorus Line. The understated and comparatively reticent middle section is dramatically bookended with an otherwise embellished and knowingly campy arrangement. Stars set the stage for Ian to further develop her mature and meditative themes utilizing a wide variety of musical styles a hallmark that separated her from her weepy and otherwise introspective peers.
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Janis Ian – Night Rains (Remastered) (1979/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 39:09 minutes | 1,57 GB | Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Music CG

When Janis lan’s self-titled 1978 album failed to crack the Top 100, it was clear that changes were in order. Here, she turns to producer Ron Frangipane and a surprising songwriting partner, Euro-disco maven Giorgio Moroder, who brings in his dance tracks for “Fly Too High,” which was intended for the motion picture Foxes. More appropriately, Ian also pairs with Albert Hammond for the leadoff track, “The Other Side of the Sun.” Even on her own, however, she is attempting a more timely pop style: “Memories” is as much of a disco cut as the Moroder one. That makes the album more engaging on the surface than her recent releases, but less compelling. As a commercial move, Night Rains failed to chart in the US, but was an international best seller.
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Janis Ian – Miracle Row (Remastered) (1977/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 40:02 minutes | 1,58 GB | Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Music CG

Singer/songwriter Janis Ian followed up her understated masterwork Aftertones (1976) with this long-player, which includes some equally engaging and varied material. Although she’d eventually return to using studio heavies for the remainder of her ’70s and early-’80s output, Miracle Row (1977) prominently features Ian’s touring band, which highlights the respective talents of Claire Bay (vocals), and a power trio of Jeff Layton (bass/horns/horn arrangements), Stu Woods (bass), and Barry Lazarowitz (drums/percussion). Each of the musicians were themselves recording session stalwarts and had interacted with the artist in various capacities for several years. Never one to shy away from controversial or blatant social observations, “Party Lights” is one of Ian’s more personal exposés, dealing with the drug-fuelled Jekyll and Hyde decadence of the mid-to-late ’70s. The melody is penetrating with a sense of foreboding drama, which is evident musically as well as lyrically. “Miracle Row”/ “Maria” adopts a lilting tropical air behind some of Ian’s most affective contributions on the album and deal, although somewhat obliquely, with her own sexuality. These introspective themes are carried into the stark and harrowing “Sunset Of Your Life” which confronts the fear and uncertainty of aging with a refreshingly honest poignancy. These decidedly serious themes are contrasted by the up-tempo, funky “Let Me Be Lonely,” and the jazz fusion-riddled “Take To The Sky.” As the easy-going “I Want To Make You Love Me” featuring some nice harmonies from Bay as well as the intimacy of “Candlelight” reveal, Ian had not lost her knack for lovely, simple, and otherwise unencumbered tunes. In fact, it is her blend of affective words and catchy melodies that sent the Spanish-flavored “Will You Dance” to the top of the singles chart in Japan where it remained for the better part of three months, eventually sending the album into the realm of six-figure sales and platinum status. Ian admits that the drugged insanity of the music biz and many of its’ concurrent denizens were ultimately behind the split-up of the tight combo featured on “Miracle Row.” Her self-titled follow-up would continue the jazzy leanings hinted at here, and she would return to the heavyweight talents of Ron Carter (bass), Richard Davis (bass), and Steve Gadd (drums).
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Janis Ian – Between the Lines (Remastered) (1975/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 43:52 minutes | 1,34 GB | Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Music CG

This is Janis Ian’s second album from her re-emergence in the early to mid-’70s as one of the genre’s most inspired and original singer/songwriters. While this title houses Ian’s biggest international hit, the confessional “At Seventeen,” the entire effort combines her honest and confessional lyrics with an equally engaging blend of pop/rock and definite jazz and blues. She assembled much of the same ensemble that had worked on her previous long-player, Stars (1975), and much of the material retains the same warmth and intimacy in both her craft as well as the presentation. Unlike the more somber and introverted tracks that dominate Between the Lines (1975), the disc commences with a prime example of Ian’s infectious coziness on the light and airy “When the Party’s Over.” This is one of the title’s more straightforward love songs and features an appropriately lilting counter-harmony from Dennis Pereca. More typical are the somewhat dark and oblique “From Me to You,” “The Come On,” and the despairing title track. Darker still are “In the Winter” and the abject loneliness of “Tea and Sympathy” both of which feature some engaging arrangements courtesy of famed arranger/conductor Ron Frangipane, whose clients include Melanie and Townes Van Zandt as well as both John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Underlying the heady orchestration and truly at the center of Ian’s skill are her emotively powerful yet reserved melodies. This was undoubtedly a factor in “At Seventeen” becoming a Grammy winner as well as a chart-topping single stateside and a Top 20 hit throughout much of Europe as well as more disparate locations such as Israel. The strength of material and public interest garnered by Between the Lines would continue on her next equally powerful long-player, Aftertones (1976). This album is a recommended starting point for potential enthusiasts, as well as a touchstone to be repeatedly revisited.
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Janis Ian – Aftertones (Remastered) (1975/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 33:39 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Music CG

On Aftertones, Janis Ian (guitar/piano/vocals) continued the artistic, and to a lesser extent, the commercial success she garnered on her previous effort Between The Lines (1975). Once again, she assembled some of the finest session musicians from the Big Apple to animate her intimately sensitive sonic portraits and caricatures. Although Ian would not surpass the universality of “At Seventeen,” much of this disc continues the theme and moods expressed as far back as Stars (1974). Ian’s advanced folk sensibilities are emotional progressions away from the weepy and introspective nature heard from her mid-’70s singer/songwriter contemporaries. Part of Ian’s enticement is the marriage between achingly beautiful melodies and thoroughly personalized lyrics. The album commences with the title track setting the tenor and sonic ambiance. The acoustic guitar and compact string section lend to “Aftertones” slightly baroque feel, which adds to the song’s palpable isolation (“‘Til all that’s left to see are aftertones/I take them home/ We live alone”). The beautifully bitter “Love Is Blind,” and the harrowing “Don’t Cry, Old Man” are piercing in their honesty. They contrast the lighter fare of “I Would Like to Dance,” as well as the tongue-in-cheek “Boy, I Really Tied One On,” or the overtly kinky blues “This Must Be Wrong.” “Goodbye to Morning” is a dark jazzy ode that stands out as one of the best sides on the album, featuring some distinct interaction between Richard Davis (acoustic bass) and Ian’s own rambling, unplugged fretwork. Folk and gospel legends Odetta (vocals) and Phoebe Snow (vocals) join in on Aftertones magnum opus, “Hymn.” The trio soulfully swaddle their subtle harmonies into a unified lead as they languidly allow their own vocal aftertones resonate with unencumbered majesty.
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