Entry tags:
Sunday Music: The Autobiography Collection, Janis Ian
Album Title: The Autobiography Collection, Janis Ian
Why I Bought It: This was another "filling a category" purchase. In this case, the category consisted of Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Phoebe Snow, Laura Nyro, and Janis Ian. I don't know where the category came from, but all of them are from about the same era and all sang songs that are a bit meatier than the usual run of popular music. Anyway, I was at Borders and picked up albums by Snow, Nyro, and Ian. I gave a full review of this album once before.
What I Like (Refuge): "Ginny the Flying Girl", for a refuge of the imagination; "My Tennessee Hills", for a refuge of the heart.
What I Like (Joy): "Thankyous", which is exactly what it sounds like. Honorable mentions to "Joy", "Through the Years", and "This Train Still Runs", each in a different way.
What I Like (Passion): "Stolen Fire", sung to an unfaithful lover. Honorable mentions to "Love Is Blind" and "Today You're Mine".
What I Like (Silly): "My Autobiography", sung in the persona of a thoroughly self-absorbed writer.
What I Like (Horror): "Tattoo", about a Holocaust survivor. Honorable mention to "His Hands".
Overall: Lord, but I love this album. I haven't mentioned the half-despairing "Society's Child" (banned from the air in several southern states after its release in the early '70s), or the classic "At Seventeen", or the compassionate "Every Love", or.... There are one or two songs on the album that don't much appeal to me, but more than two dozen that do.
Why I Bought It: This was another "filling a category" purchase. In this case, the category consisted of Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Phoebe Snow, Laura Nyro, and Janis Ian. I don't know where the category came from, but all of them are from about the same era and all sang songs that are a bit meatier than the usual run of popular music. Anyway, I was at Borders and picked up albums by Snow, Nyro, and Ian. I gave a full review of this album once before.
What I Like (Refuge): "Ginny the Flying Girl", for a refuge of the imagination; "My Tennessee Hills", for a refuge of the heart.
What I Like (Joy): "Thankyous", which is exactly what it sounds like. Honorable mentions to "Joy", "Through the Years", and "This Train Still Runs", each in a different way.
What I Like (Passion): "Stolen Fire", sung to an unfaithful lover. Honorable mentions to "Love Is Blind" and "Today You're Mine".
What I Like (Silly): "My Autobiography", sung in the persona of a thoroughly self-absorbed writer.
What I Like (Horror): "Tattoo", about a Holocaust survivor. Honorable mention to "His Hands".
Overall: Lord, but I love this album. I haven't mentioned the half-despairing "Society's Child" (banned from the air in several southern states after its release in the early '70s), or the classic "At Seventeen", or the compassionate "Every Love", or.... There are one or two songs on the album that don't much appeal to me, but more than two dozen that do.