Janis Ian Is Coming

Rip It Up, Issue 5, 1 October 1977, Page 1

Janis lan Is Coming

William Dart

So is Jesus, some people say, but Janis’ arrival is faf more imminent.

Five or six years ago when I had what amounted to a personal fanaticism for this singer I resigned myself to the fact that she must have been the person least likely to tour our little country. Janis lan has been around for quite a while now, cutting her first big hit, Society’s Child’’ in 1967. Part of this song's impact at the time was an emotional one, because lan herself was only 15. However this doen't explain the immediacy of the song in the late seventies. Well, it's just a damned good song!

Janis worked at her music over the next three years and released four under-rated albums for Verve (the first is again available in record shops). She herself has dismissed these albums, but they are full of terrific music. The second, For All The Seasons of Your Mind was released in New Zealand.

However her audience did not want to see their little wunderkind extend-

ing herself andsoon shifted their attentions to other new faces.

A change of record company to Capitol, and an exquisite album called Present Company still did nothing for lan's career, and no one seemed to notice her except Penny Valentine in the British Sounds paper. Sothenthere was the much-publicised retirement to study songwriting. In the 1973 the hits started to appear. "Jesse'' was a hit for Roberta Flack, and eventually Janis had a big hit herself with "At Seventeen”. Of all the recent albums (Stars, Between the Lines, Aftertones and Miracle Row) I

think the first remains the best because it is the most personal. Songs like "Stars” are telling you about the singer's own hang-ups and problems, whereas some of the later songs lack this immediacy. Stil, Janis lan has always remained a very literate song-writer and it will be interesting to see the lady perform later in the year.