Janis Ian

Digitally remastered two-fer from the Folk/Rock singer/songwriter containing two of her original albums on one CD: Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink (1968) and Who Really Cares (1969). These are a young Janis' third and fourth recordings for Verve. She retired from music at 19, but returned to go onto huge success with her 1974 album Stars and a long international career.

Between the Lines, released in 1975 and containing the popular song "At Seventeen", is the best-known album by the then New York-based singer-songwriter Janis Ian. The album reached #1 on the Billboard album chart in September 1975, and sold 1.9 million copies in the United States. "At Seventeen" was released as a single and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Ian won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song, and performed it on the first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975.

Digitally remastered two CD set containing a pair of original albums from the Folk/Rock singer/songwriter: Stars (1974) and Aftertones (1976). The two albums that bookended her hugely successful Between the Lines album, each of these releases are complimented by a bonus live track on each disc. While Stars was a critically successful release, Aftertones consolidated the worldwide success of Between the Lines, particularly in the UK and Japan.

Janis Ian is a singer and songwriter whose career has gone through three distinct stages. Ian had an initial burst of fame as a teenager with a precocious gift for social and political commentary, as documented on her self-titled 1967 debut album and its hit single "Society's Child. She returned to the public eye in the mid-'70s with deeply personal songs about life and relationships; this era was launched with the albums Stars (1974) and Between the Lines (1975), and a track from the latter album, "At Seventeen," would become her best-known song. In 1993, after ten years away from the spotlight, Ian re-emerged as an independent artist whose comeback album, Breaking Silence (1993), fused a mature viewpoint on the world around her to an urgent and confident lyrical voice. In each stage of her career, Ian's lyrics were literate and emotionally honest, even at the age of 14 (when she penned "Society's Child"), and her vocals have a warmth that reflects strength and vulnerability with equal eloquence.

After the release of Folk is the New Black in 2006, Janis decided not to make another record until she felt she had “an album’s worth of impeccable songs”. Although she released several private “for the fans” items, and continued touring, she also set up a whiteboard with a constantly rotating list of songs in process, songs she thought would make the cut, and thoughts about subjects she wanted to cover. One thing that became apparent over the years was her strong relationship with her fans, and the sense that she and they had come full circle – from “Society’s Child” through “Stars” to “The Light at the End of the Line”.

First album since Restless Eyes with no co-writes, Folk Is The New Black is a return to Janis' folk roots. However, this is not a lighthearted nostalgia trip, but instead a true folk album: sparse but tasteful instrumentation underneath powerful lyrics of social and political social commentary, with enough variety to keep the listener beguiled. A must have.

Digitally remastered two CD set containing a trio of albums from the American singer/songwriter: Night Rains (1979), Restless Eyes (1981) and Uncle Wonderful (1983) plus bonus tracks. Night Rains was Janis' sixth album for CBS and features two of her first-ever co-writes: 'The Other Side Of The Sun' was written with Albert Hammond while 'Fly Too High' was co-written and produced by disco colossus Giorgio Moroder. Restless Eyes was Janis' last album for CBS. The album features guest appearances from Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel and Country fiddle player Byron Berline. Uncle Wonderful was recorded for the Australian Festival label and was Janis' last album before a ten year break. Something of an oddity in Janis' catalogue, the album contains a lot of synthesizer backing and spawned a dance hit in 'Heart Skip Too Many Beats', which was co-written and performed with Dan Hartman.

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.