''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 Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...

, originally released in 1978. Before the release of ''Janis Ian'', the singer had been spending most of her time touring Japan, where her previous studio albums ''

Aftertones ''Aftertones'' is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Janis Ian, recorded 1975 in various New York studios and released 1976 by Columbia Records. "Love Is Blind" was a #1 single in Japan for six months. It was the highest-selling albu ...

'' and ''

Miracle Row ''Miracle Row'' is the ninth studio album by Janis Ian, and her fourth for Columbia Records, released in 1977. In contrast to her previous three albums, ''Miracle Row'' was recorded in New York City with her recent touring band and lacked the or ...

'' had been much more successful than in the United States, where her early 1978 live album '' Remember...'' 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. When ''Janis Ian'' was released, the singer was pleased, 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

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' 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."

Track listing

Personnel

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

Musicians

* Janis Ian – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *

Wayne Andre Wayne Andre (November 17, 1931 – August 26, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician. Early life Wayne Andre was born November 17, 1931 in Manchester, ConnecticuAndre's father was a saxophonist, a ...

– trombone * Claire Bay – backing vocals * Richard Davis –

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

* Sal DiTroia – guitar *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

– drums * Al Gorgoni – guitar *

Artie Kaplan Artie Kaplan (born 1935) is an American recording artist, songwriter and a session musician. He has also been a music contractor where he was hired to musicians for sessions. In the 1960s, he was casting musicians for sessions for Aldon Music. ...

–

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

* Jik Malin – percussion * Jeff Mironov – guitar * Tony Studd –

bass trombone The bass trombone (, ) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and u ...

Charts

Notes

References

{{Janis Ian Janis Ian albums 1978 albums Albums produced by Joe Wissert Columbia Records albums