Between the Lines

"Originally released in February 1975, 'Between the Lines' is an engaging and inspired album from gifted American singer / songwriter, Janis Ian.

Janis had achieved a certain amount of popularity in the 1973 with her brilliant 'Stars' album (featuring "Jesse"), but with 'Between the Lines' she achieved worldwide fame and fortune. The emotional single, "At Seventeen" sold over a million copies and earned Ian her first Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". The album also won a Grammy and was nominated for four more - the most to that date for any female artist.

By this stage in her career, Janis Ian was very experienced in recording and her songwriting had fully flourished - as is highly evident in the gentle confessional "At Seventeen". She had gone broke making 'Stars' and moved into her mother's New York apartment for six months to save some money. Janis wrote the song sitting at the dining room table, reading an article in the New York Times about debutantes that began "I learned the truth at eighteen…". Ian would sing "At Seventeen" on stage with her eyes closed, because she was convinced the audience would laugh at her.

The whole album is intimate, honest and reflective, dealing with loneliness ("Tea and Sympathy"), and darker sides of the human psyche ("From Me to You," "The Come On," and "In the Winter"). On a brighter note, the opening cut, "When the Party's Over" is a sweet love song, which is a stark contrast to the somber title track. The songs on 'Between the Lines' are exceptionally well crafted, but Janis also displays great skill on guitar, with arrangements built around her dexterous picking and strumming on the instrument.

Incorporating folk, jazz and blues, this is a powerful, yet subtle recording from an enduring, consistent artist. Like 'Aftertones', which followed, 'Between the Lines' is a critically acclaimed album that has stood the test of time well."
-GEOFF (7th October, 2009)