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Janis Ian (1978 album)

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Janis Ian
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1978
Recorded1977
StudioThe Hit Factory, New York City
Genre
Length42:30
LabelColumbia
ProducerJoe Wissert
Janis Ian chronology
Remember...
(1978)
Janis Ian
(1978)
Night Rains
(1979)

Janis Ian, also titled Janis Ian II to avoid confusion with her debut album of the same name, is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, originally released in 1978.

Before the release of Janis Ian, the singer had been spending most of her time touring Japan,[1] where her previous studio albums Aftertones and Miracle Row had been much more successful than in the United States, where her early 1978 live album Remember...[a] would never be issued. Janis Ian was recorded in late 1977 but not released until her return to the United States in the late summer of 1978, by which time she had been engaged and married to Portuguese novelist Tino Sargo.[2]

When Janis Ian was released, the singer was pleased,[3] and the record at first appeared to be doing well. However, the early commercial promise of Janis Ian faded rapidly, and the album would continue a commercial decline in all territories, reaching only number 120 in the United States and number 97 in Australia.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Tampa TribuneB[5]

The Globe and Mail wrote: "Perhaps it's the toughness of some of the rhythms that suggests she's hardening a little, but it isn't enough to shake off the soft-spoken image, buttressed as it is throughout the first side and, more quietly, at the end of the second, with that toughness."[6]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Janis Ian

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Grand Illusion"2:51
2."Some People"3:46
3."Tonight Will Last Forever"2:27
4."Hotels and One-Night Stands"3:37
5."Do You Wanna Dance?"5:07
6."Silly Habits"3:08
Total length:20:56
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."The Bridge"4:00
2."My Mama's House"4:04
3."Streetlife Serenaders"4:56
4."I Need to Live Alone Again"3:54
5."Hopper Painting"4:40
Total length:21:34

Personnel

[edit]
  • Joseph Wissert – producer
  • Ed Sprigg – engineer
  • John "BJ John" Smith – assistant engineer
  • Ted Spencer – assistant engineer
  • Mike Reese – mastering
  • Ron Frangipane – conductor

Musicians

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1978) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 120
Australian (Kent Music Report)[8] 97

Notes

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  1. ^ Remember... would apart from its Japanese release only be issued in Australia under the title In Concert.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kröse, Ron (October 20, 1978). "Singer Janis Ian Dislikes To Talk About Comebacks". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. p. V5.
  2. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (November 3, 1978). "Janis Ian: "A Junkie for That Grand Illusion"". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. 31.
  3. ^ Boyer, Peter J. (November 25, 1978). "Janis Ian's Working on Her Second Comeback". The Charlotte News. p. 3C.
  4. ^ William Ruhlmann. "Janis Ian [1978] – Janis Ian". All Music Group.
  5. ^ Kilgore, Michael (January 12, 1979). "Janis Ian Abandons Sorrow for New Styles". The Tampa Tribune. p. 6-D.
  6. ^ McGrath, Paul (September 13, 1978). "Janis Ian". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
  7. ^ "Janis Ian Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 145. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.