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Between the Lines

Janis Ian - Between the Lines Audio CD

A fair review of the Janis Ian "Between the Lines" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Janis Ian reviews here, or go back to the Janis Ian tabs.

Band: Janis Ian
Title: Between the Lines
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: When the Party's Over 2: At Seventeen 3: From Me to You 4: Bright Lights and Promises 5: In the Winter 6: Water Colors 7: Between the Lines 8: Come On 9: Light a Light 10: Tea and Sympathy 11: Lover's Lullaby

Brilliant
This album transcends age, sex or sexual preference, it's inspired and brilliant and thank God she made it.

a little light dispels a lot of darkness

"I learned the truth at 17" about 5 or 6 years ago when I first became a Janis Ian fan. This is what art feels like. An old friend first introduced me to this very talented creature who is actually a relative of Janis', too. At the time, I'm now embarrassed to admit that I had no idea who she was and had no idea what her music sounded like.

The first time I listened to "Between The Lines" I immediately fell in love with both the performer and the record, respectively. Janis Ian has to be one of the most underrated (and underplayed) American Folk singers of our time. Her best song is "At Seventeen. " It has such a rich sound and such a great message. Janis' voice will get inside you because she has a special gift that allows her to speak to everyone. I love this CD and recommend it to anyone that appreciates American Folk or just anything that's slightly off the beaten path (we don't all have to listen to that idol top 50 nonsense, do we?) BTW, Janis Ian performed on the very first SNL in 1975, "At Seventeen. "

These are the tracks with the times for each song:
1) When The Party's Over 2. 57 *
2) At Seventeen 4. 41 *
3) From Me To You 3. 17 *
4) Bright Lights And Promises 4. 16
5) In The Winter 2. 29
6) Water Colors 5. 02
7) Between The Lines 4. 02 *
8) The Come On 3. 57
9) Light A Light 2. 45
10) Tea & Sympathy 4. 29
11) Lover's Lullaby 5. 26

* these are my favorites.

Why do I adore this CD?

"Between The Lines" is Janis' very best CD. It's a total juxtaposition of somber, sweet and sorrowful. I really love the first track "When The Party's Over. " It has such a familiar sound that's almost refreshing. I'm sorry that's the best way I can describe it, I know that may sound hokey to you.

Did you also notice how the first part of the CD is rather mournful and the second half has a fast, frenzy sound? This makes such a unique and clever record. I can't remember listening to one like this in such a long time (if ever. ) And even though these songs all sound very diverse there's also a centricity that ties them all together. From the moody trumpet-horns that play in the early tracks, to the fast jazz beats on songs like "Between The Lines" and "Light A Light," Janis is able to bring them all together in unison, while holding hands with each other.

This record also reminds me that there's still some light left in this world or some goodness in humanity. It reminds me that there is still decent music. And most of all I love this CD because it reminds me that no matter what, everyone is still special in their own way.

. . . Janis Ian is one of our greatest entertainers and perhaps the very best folk singer, ever. Maybe overshadowed by mainstream Top 50 (otherwise known as "pop") and perhaps because she was never "folk enough" Janis never really appreciated the type of acclaim that she very rightfully was otherwise entitled to. I suppose in the end that's really what happens to some of our best artists, right?

This is one of the only CD's that I can think of that so many generations equally listen to. As I've touched on, I think it's because Janis is such a universal person that speaks what most people feel; but rarely, if ever voice. Incidentally (and not coincidently,) Janis Ian is also the only singer who my mother listened to as a teenager that I also enjoy.

IMHO Janis Ian is way more of a g-a-y icon than someone like Cher or Barbra Streisand or Madonna. Because those others are way too perfect and they didn't know what it's like to suffer through heartache. Janis does. She's a modern-day Judy Garland. On the outside, looking in, hoping to be recognized, but otherwise forgotten and thrown away. . . . That's why I love her. . . .

Janis.....
When she sings "Seventeen" you can almost imagine that she actually was an "ugly girl" though not for a moment do I believe it. Whatever Janis Ian sings, whether her own or someone else's, it comes across as entirely autobiographical. Her phrasing and musical sensibilities meet every expectation. I am a fan.

It's interesting, but when I listen to her, I am reminded of Jim Croce. I wonder if they were ever friends or even if she was of his era. Croce has a wider range to his music. When he has fun with a song, there is never a doubt that he is clowning around. Ian can not escape her seriousness even when being light. As I said, it's all autobiographical and whatever it is she is singing, I can't help but believe, that somewhere, somehow, she lived it.

That said, there is perhaps no one who handles rhythm better. Her mastery of composition and arrangement gives each piece a personality - though her style is recognizable after a while. I think she is under-rated as an artist. Too many are topping the charts with fluff. Ian holds her own with people who appreciate music.

Everybody knows
Perhaps one up- or mid-tempo tune short of an all-the-way (explosion, fireworks) masterpiece (that closing track is a touch maudlin), Between The Lines nevertheless blows out Ian's nearest "rivals" (Carole King, Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks and, dare I say, Paul Simon) and makes a serious claim for one of the 70's preeminent essential LP artifacts. 1975's finest.

The success here, I believe, is that Ian (already a songwriting master by '69) keeps the chords simple enough to let her mesmerizing blasts of lyrical wisdom run their course. And there is sagacity, however embittered, on every track. The arrangements are smart, providing properly discreet shading to Ian's soul-inflected folk (and, occasionally)cabaret musings.

Ian sings a mean, low-key revelation. Even when her lyrical and sonic milieu is the tawdry dancehall ("Bright Lights and Promises"), she never showboats. Ian has the inspired ice of Peggy Lee. "The Come On," a deeply dire meditation on cheap love and low esteem, never lapses into sobbing gymnastics. Ian just delivers the bad news like an X-ray. Perfect every time.

There is a fiber-optic perfection to Ian's poetic observations. Male radio programmers and DJs were compelled by burning telephone lines, not market imperatives, to air "At Seventeen" - a startling runaway hit (prefiguring the later, bolder success of Suzanne Vega's "Luka"). It was simply heavy lasers set to kill. Ian didn't hit the mark, she expunged it.

What an artist.

A great memory!
It still is as pertinent now in its wording as it was back then. Listening to this CD brings back memories of my "younger" years. . . just in a different way. A great rememberance.

You can see a complete list of all Janis Ian discography, or go back to the Janis Ian tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.