| Janis Ian | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1965-1966 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 37:45 | |||
| Label | Verve | |||
| Producer | George "Shadow" Morton | |||
| Janis Ian chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Wilson and Allroy |  [2] |
| Loraine Alterman ( Detroit Free Press ) | Favourable [3] |
| Ferne Dovalina ( Fort Worth Star-Telegram ) | Favourable [4] |
| Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) | [5] |
Janis Ian is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, released in January 1967.
Janis Eddy Fink had begun writing poetry when she was eight and singing when she was twelve. [6] Changing her name to "Janis Ian" after the middle name of her brother, she began to perform in New York folk clubs in her teens and made her first recording, "Baby I've Been Thinking" in September 1965. [7] The song's topic of interracial romance was highly controversial and many record labels rejected Ian's recording. [6]
Ian signed with Verve Records in 1966 and released the single – retitled as "Society’s Child" – in September 1966. It slowly caught on and peaked at number 14 in the United States in July 1967. [8] Her self-titled debut album was released at the beginning of 1967, peaking at number 29 at the beginning of September that year. [9] Contemporary reviewers, notably Loraine Alterman of the Detroit Free Press , [3] generally praised Ian's lyrical talent but some such as Peter Johnson of the Los Angeles Times said that the record's lyrical strengths were countered by Ian's fundamental musical weaknesses such as a thin voice. [10]
During her period of prominence in the middle 1970s Janis Ian would distance herself from her Verve albums, calling them “a tax write-off for Verve”. [11] She would drop even “Society’s Child” from her setlists whilst signed to Columbia Records, [12] and although “Society’s Child” has returned since her 1990s comeback, nothing else from the debut is known to have been performed since 1972.
All tracks are written by Janis Ian
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Society’s Child (Baby, I’ve Been Thinking)" | 3:13 |
| 2. | "Too Old To Go 'Way Little Girl" | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Hair of Spun Gold" | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Then Tangles of My Mind" | 2:37 |
| 5. | "I'll Give You a Stone If You'll Throw It (Changing Tymes)" | 3:28 |
| 6. | "Pro-Girl" | 2:47 |
| Total length: | 19:19 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Younger Generation Blues" | 3:13 |
| 2. | "New Christ Cardiac Hero" | 4:35 |
| 3. | "Lover Be Kindly" | 2:58 |
| 4. | "Mrs. McKenzie" | 2:43 |
| 5. | "Janey's Blues" | 4:53 |
| Total length: | 18:26 | |
Janis Ian 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 " and the 1975 Top Ten single "At Seventeen", from her LP Between the Lines, which in September 1975 reached no. 1 on the Billboard album chart.
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and the 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous, while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. She was praised for her introspective lyrics and strong emotive vocal style and 3-octave mezzo-soprano vocal range.
"At Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian from her seventh studio album Between the Lines. Columbia released it in July 1975 as the album's second single. Ian wrote the lyrics on the basis of a New York Times article and used a samba instrumental, and Brooks Arthur produced the final version. A pop and soft rock ballad, the song is about a social outcast in high school. Critics have regarded "At Seventeen" as a type of anthem. Despite her initial reluctance to perform the single live, Ian promoted it at various appearances and it has been included on compilation and live albums.
The Paupers were a Canadian psychedelic rock band from Toronto, Ontario, who recorded between 1965 and 1968. They released two albums for Verve Forecast Records and appeared at the Monterey International Pop Festival.
Between the Lines is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, released in 1975 by Columbia Records. The album was recorded and mixed at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York, with production helmed by Brooks Arthur. The album reached number one on the Billboard album chart in September 1975, and has sold 1.9 million copies in the United States.
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! is the debut solo and third studio album overall by American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, released on September 11, 1969. It was the first album which Joplin recorded after leaving her former band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the only solo album released during her lifetime.
"Society's Child" is a song about an interracial relationship written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian in 1965. According to Janis Ian, Atlantic Records refused to release it although the company had financed the recording; the artist took it to Verve Records who agreed to release it.
Live at Kelvin Hall is a live album by the English rock group the Kinks. It was recorded at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, in early 1967 and released in August 1967 in the US, and January 1968 in the UK. Live at Kelvin Hall received mixed reviews upon release, and sold poorly.
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 album by a solo female artist in Japan and was also a top twenty and gold record in the United States, Ireland and Holland. "I Would Like to Dance" reached #86 in Canada.
Leavin' is the 18th studio album by American recording artist Natalie Cole, released on September 26, 2006, by Verve Records. The album consists of ten cover versions of various R&B and pop songs and two original songs: "5 Minutes Away" and "Don't Say Goodnight ". It was the second of Cole's albums to be released by Verve Records, and her first album in four years, following Ask a Woman Who Knows (2002). Cole promoted the album as a return to her R&B roots, distancing herself from an identification as a jazz artist.
Stars is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and the first of her seven for Columbia Records. Ian had previously had a three-year hiatus from the music industry since her 1971 album Present Company. In two years away from the music business, Ian wrote over 100 songs after moving to Los Angeles. She returned to play at the Philadelphia Folk Festival on August 17, 1973, and was signed by Columbia Records after several other companies rejected the songs she had written.
Miracle Row is the ninth studio album by Janis Ian, and her fourth for Columbia Records, released in 1977.
Uncle Wonderful is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and her first after departing from Columbia Records.
For All the Seasons of Your Mind is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Janis Ian, released in October 1967.
Present Company is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and her solitary album for Capitol Records.
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.
Remember..., released in Australia under the title In Concert, is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian. It was recorded during her 1977 tour of Osaka and Sydney, and released as a double LP in Japan and Australia in 1978, but has never been released in the United States or Europe.
Restless Eyes, released in 1981, is the twelfth studio album by singer/songwriter Janis Ian, and her last album for Columbia Records, although at the time Ian had a contract with the label for four further albums.
The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink is the third studio album by American singer/songwriter Janis Ian, released in 1968. It was named after Janis Ian’s birth name, and was purportedly a concept album about Janis’ teenage life.
Who Really Cares, released in 1969, is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and her last for Verve Forecast. Unlike her previous three albums, Who Really Cares was produced not by Shadow Morton but by Charles Calello, who had attracted attention for producing Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession a year earlier. The title was taken from Ian's first book of poetry, published shortly after the album's release.