Between The Lines

A labour of love that will be a true godsend for longtime Groovies and newcomers alike, Between the Lines: The complete Jordan/Wilson Songbook '71-'81compiles, for the first time ever, all the original songs written by Groovies Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson in the classic second version of the band. The Groovies gave themselves a major reboot in 1971 when a then 18-year-old Chris Wilson replaced Roy Loney as the band’s frontman and Cyril Jordan’s writing partner. This was the formation of the group that made that journey to England at the behest of UA – helping set the scene for punk – and which, with a couple of line-up changes along the way, ended up signing to Sire Records and making three brilliant albums – Shake Some Action, Now, and Jumpin’ In The Night – before eventually running out of steam following Wilson’s departure in 1981. It’s the incarnation that headlined over the Ramones in London on July 4 1976 in London, but which then had to settle for being a massive influence on the nascent form of both power pop and all manner of ’60s influenced groups after the dictates of a post-punk world decided that their glorious rock’n’roll was not going to be the next big thing.

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.

Like almost every other live release of the new millennium, Between the Line: Sara Bareilles Live at Fillmore is a multi-format package appearing as a CD/DVD set and a Blu_Ray release, all containing the same set. It's a crisp, clean production designed for home theater systems, but it also works very well as a standalone live album, since its lean, lively arrangements – often featuring extended piano-and-voice segments, with "Fairytale" being performed entirely solo by Bareilles – wind up showcasing the melodic craft behind her songs.