Janis Ian - Miracle Row

Styles: Vocal, Guitar, Folk
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:59
Size: 91,6 MB
Art: Front
(3:24)  1. Party Lights
(3:21)  2. I Want to Make You Love Me
(3:29)  3. Sunset of Your Life
(4:34)  4. Take to the Sky
(4:04)  5. Candlelight
(3:58)  6. Let Me Be Lonely
(3:09)  7. Slow Dance Romance
(3:05)  8. Will You Dance?
(3:25)  9. I'll Cry Tonight
(7:25) 10. Miracle Row/Maria

Singer/songwriter Janis Ian followed up her understated masterwork Aftertones (1976) with this long-player, which includes some equally engaging and varied material. Although she'd eventually return to using studio heavies for the remainder of her '70s and early-'80s output, Miracle Row (1977) prominently features Ian's touring band, which highlights the respective talents of Claire Bay (vocals), and a power trio of Jeff Layton (bass/horns/horn arrangements), Stu Woods (bass), and Barry Lazarowitz (drums/percussion). Each of the musicians were themselves recording session stalwarts and had interacted with the artist in various capacities for several years. Never one to shy away from controversial or blatant social observations, "Party Lights" is one of Ian's more personal exposés, dealing with the drug-fuelled Jekyll and Hyde decadence of the mid-to-late '70s. The melody is penetrating with a sense of foreboding drama, which is evident musically as well as lyrically. "Miracle Row"/ "Maria" adopts a lilting tropical air behind some of Ian's most affective contributions on the album and deal, although somewhat obliquely, with her own sexuality. These introspective themes are carried into the stark and harrowing "Sunset Of Your Life" which confronts the fear and uncertainty of aging with a refreshingly honest poignancy. 

These decidedly serious themes are contrasted by the up-tempo, funky "Let Me Be Lonely," and the jazz fusion-riddled "Take To The Sky." As the easy-going "I Want To Make You Love Me" featuring some nice harmonies from Bay as well as the intimacy of "Candlelight" reveal, Ian had not lost her knack for lovely, simple, and otherwise unencumbered tunes. In fact, it is her blend of affective words and catchy melodies that sent the Spanish-flavored "Will You Dance" to the top of the singles chart in Japan where it remained for the better part of three months, eventually sending the album into the realm of six-figure sales and platinum status. Ian admits that the drugged insanity of the music biz and many of its' concurrent denizens were ultimately behind the split-up of the tight combo featured on "Miracle Row." Her self-titled follow-up would continue the jazzy leanings hinted at here, and she would return to the heavyweight talents of Ron Carter (bass), Richard Davis (bass), and Steve Gadd (drums). ~ Lindsay Planer http://www.allmusic.com/album/miracle-row-mw0000742871

Personnel: Janis Ian (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Claire Bay (vocals); Jeff Layton (guitar); Barry Lazarowitz (drums, percussion); Rubens Bassini (congas, percussion); Phil Kraus (percussion).

Miracle Row

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Janis Ian - Aftertones

Styles: Vocal, Guitar, Piano, Folk
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:36
Size: 79,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:14)  1. Aftertones
(3:41)  2. I Would Like To Dance
(2:16)  3. Love Is Blind
(3:11)  4. Roses
(4:31)  5. Belle Of The Blues
(3:08)  6. Goodbye To Morning
(2:42)  7. Boy, I Really Tied One On
(2:42)  8. This Must Be Wrong
(3:57)  9. Don't Cry, Old Man
(4:12) 10. Hymn

On Aftertones, Janis Ian (guitar/piano/vocals) continued the artistic, and to a lesser extent, the commercial success she garnered on her previous effort Between The Lines (1975). Once again, she assembled some of the finest session musicians from the Big Apple to animate her intimately sensitive sonic portraits and caricatures. Although Ian would not surpass the universality of "At Seventeen," much of this disc continues the theme and moods expressed as far back as Stars (1974). Ian's advanced folk sensibilities are emotional progressions away from the weepy and introspective nature heard from her mid-'70s singer/songwriter contemporaries. Part of Ian's enticement is the marriage between achingly beautiful melodies and thoroughly personalized lyrics. The album commences with the title track setting the tenor and sonic ambiance. The acoustic guitar and compact string section lend to "Aftertones" slightly baroque feel, which adds to the song's palpable isolation ("'Til all that's left to see are aftertones/I take them home/ We live alone"). The beautifully bitter "Love Is Blind," and the harrowing "Don't Cry, Old Man" are piercing in their honesty. They contrast the lighter fare of "I Would Like to Dance," as well as the tongue-in-cheek "Boy, I Really Tied One On," or the overtly kinky blues "This Must Be Wrong." "Goodbye to Morning" is a dark jazzy ode that stands out as one of the best sides on the album, featuring some distinct interaction between Richard Davis (acoustic bass) and Ian's own rambling, unplugged fretwork. Folk and gospel legends Odetta (vocals) and Phoebe Snow (vocals) join in on Aftertones magnum opus, "Hymn." The trio soulfully swaddle their subtle harmonies into a unified lead as they languidly allow their own vocal aftertones resonate with unencumbered majesty. ~ Lindsay Planer http://www.allmusic.com/album/aftertones-mw0000691057

Personnel: Janis Ian (guitar, piano); Claire Bay (vocals); Al Gorgoni, Jeff Layton (guitar); Kathryn Kienke, Ezra Kliger, Michael Comins, Julius Schacter, Paul Winter Consort, Gene Orloff, Harry Cykman, Harry Lookofsky (violin); George Browne, The Manny Vardi Strings, David Sackson, Selwart Clarke (viola); Bruce Rogers, Jesse Levy, Charles McCracken , Max Hollander, Kermit Moore (cello); Romeo Penque (flute, piccolo, e flat clarinet, oboe, English horn); Phil Bodner (alto flute, oboe, English horn); Gonzalo Fernandez (wooden flute); Artie Kaplan (bass clarinet, baritone saxophone); Pete Nater, Ernie Royal, Larry Spencer, Joe Shepley (trumpet); Donald Corrado, James Buffington, Earl Chapin (French horn); Mickey Gravine (trombone, tenor trombone); Tom "Bones" Malone, Lewis Kahn (trombone); Wayne Andre (tenor trombone); Larry Harlow (piano); Barry Lazarowitz (drums, percussion); Arthur Jenkins (congas).

Aftertones

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