Sealed LP: Janis Ian: Stars

$

25

Janis Ian: Stars

FACTORY SEALED LP

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Songs

• Stars
• Man You Are in Me
• Sweet Sympathy
• Page Nine
• Thankyous
• Dance With Me
• Without You
• Jesse
• You've Got Me on a String
• Applause

Credits

• Joseph Malin: Violin
• Richard Maximoff: Viola
• Hugh McCracken: Guitar (Electric)
• Charles McCracken: Celli
• Lloyd Michaels: Trumpet
• Gene Orloff: Violin
• Don Payne: Bass
• Romeo Penque: Saxophone
• Alan Raph: Horn (Baritone)
• George Ricci: Cello, Cello Soloist
• Al Rogers: Drums
• Alan Rubin: Trumpet
• David Sackson: Viola
• Allan Schwartzberg: Drums
• Joseph J. Shepley: Horn
• Wally Kane: Bassoon
• Herb Gart: Executive Producer
• Archie Levin: Viola
• Brad Baker: Copyist
• Marie Hence: Violin
• Joe Shepley: Trumpet, Soloist
• Artie Kaplan: Orchestra Manager
• Julius Schacter: Violin
• Peter Cunningham: Photography
• Romeo Pengue: Clarinet, Oboe, Flute
• Martin Fink: Whistle (Human)
• Oscar James: Copyist
• Bhen Lanzarone: Celeste
• Bob Abernathy: French Horn
• Richard Anthony Davis: Bass, Pizzicato Bass, Arranger
• Larry Alexander: Drums, Tambourine, Remixing, Engineer
• Gloria Lanzarone: Celli
• Brooks Arthur: Producer, Engineer, Remixing
• Eric Weissberg: Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
• George Duvivier: Bass
• Larry Alexander: Drums, Tambourine, Engineer, Remixing
• Seymour Barab: Celli
• Raymond Beckenstein: Sax (Soprano), Wind
• Seymour Berman: Viola
• Ariana Bronne: Violin
• Alfred Brown: Viola
• James Buffington: French Horn
• Frederick Buldrini: Violin
• Don Butterfield: Tuba
• Ralph Casale: Guitar (Acoustic)
• Earl Chapin: French Horn
• Selwart Clarke: Viola
• Leon Cohen: Clarinet
• Burt Collins: Trumpet
• Joseph DeAngelis: French Horn
• George Devens: Vibraphone
• Sal DiTroia: Guitar (Acoustic), Harmonica, Guitar (Rhythm)
• Peter Dimitriades: Violin
• Charlie Dreyer: Engineer
• Paul Faulise: Trombone (Bass)
• Ron Frangipane: Piano, Conductor, Score, Arranger
• Mickey Gravine: Trombone (Tenor)
• Jack Jennings: Percussion
• Harold Kohon: Violin
• Louis Lahav: Assistant Engineer
• Barry Lazarowitz: Percussion, Drums, Arranger
• John Tropea: Guitar (Acoustic)
• Janis Ian: Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (12 Strings), Fender Rhodes, Main Performer, Vocals, Arranger, Piano
• Phil Bodner: Flute (Alto), Sax (Alto)
• Richard Davis: Bass, Arranger, Pizzicato Bass
• Bill Watrous: Trombone (Tenor)

Album Review

• After a three-year (1971-1974) hiatus, singer/songwriter Janis Ian (guitar/vocals) reinvented her craft on the groundbreaking Stars (1974) long-player. Her penchant for hauntingly beautiful melodies and incisive lyrics remains at the center of Ian's craft as she weaves an array of uniquely expressive observations with timeless poignancy. She has publicly acknowledged that the introspective title track that opens the album was inspired by Don McLean's "Vincent." Ian's reflections are almost naked in their intimacy as she looks within the psyche of celebrity and draws comparisons between the respective astral and physical bodies that "Stars" inhabit, albeit briefly in either case. The song's sparse acoustic guitar self-accompaniment is somewhat an anomaly as the remainder of the album incorporates various backing combos. The cosy and laid-back "Page Nine" demonstrates a jazzier side to Ian's arrangements and features some inviting contributions from percussion legend and studio heavyweight George Devens (vibraphone), who had been performing in Ian's studio coterie since her second release, For All the Seasons of Your Mind (1967). "The Man You Are in Me" is instrumentally highlighted by Richard Davis (bass), who impels the rhythm and provides Ian with a sonic backdrop beguiling the listener into its practically hypnotic melody. There is also a fair share of folk-infused material, ranging from the easygoing and heartfelt peon "Thankyous" to the decidedly more political and strident "Dance with Me" -- which deals fairly directly with the Vietnam experience. Perhaps the best-known cut on Stars also obliquely references the war and is considered the disc's crown jewel. "Jessie" is a riveting love song that is as beautiful as it is soul-wrenchingly poignant. The delicate understated score only adds to the composition's empathy. "Applause" fittingly concludes the effort in a Broadway-esque fashion with a grandiose production reminiscent of something out of +Cabaret or +A Chorus Line. The understated and comparatively reticent middle section is dramatically bookended with an otherwise embellished and knowingly campy arrangement. Stars set the stage for Ian to further develop her mature and meditative themes utilizing a wide variety of musical styles -- a hallmark that separated her from her weepy and otherwise introspective peers. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

Biography

Janis Ian biography by Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

• A singer/songwriter both celebrated and decried for her pointed handling of taboo topics, Janis Ian enjoyed one of the more remarkable second acts in music history; after first finding success as a teen, her career slumped, only to enter a commercial resurgence almost a decade later. The child of a music teacher, Janis Eddy Fink was born on May 7, 1951, in New York City; she studied piano as a child, and, drawing influence from Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Odetta, wrote her first songs at the age of 12. She soon entered Manhattan's High School of Music and Art, where she began performing at school functions; after adopting the surname Ian (her brother's middle name), she quickly graduated to the New York folk circuit.
• When she was just 15, she recorded her self-titled debut; the LP contained "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)," a meditation on interracial romance written by Ian while waiting to meet with her school guidance counselor. While banned by a few radio stations, the single failed to attract much notice until conductor Leonard Bernstein invited its writer to perform the song on his television special Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The ensuing publicity and furor over its subject matter pushed "Society's Child" into the upper rungs of the pop charts, and made Ian an overnight sensation.
• Success did not agree with her, however, and she soon dropped out of high school; in rapid succession, Ian recorded three more LPs -- 1967's For All the Seasons of Your Mind, 1968's The Secret Life of J. Eddy Fink, and 1969's Who Really Cares -- but gave away the money she earned to friends and charities. After meeting photojournalist Peter Cunningham at a peace rally, the couple married, and at age 20, she announced her retirement from the music business. The marriage failed, however, and she returned in 1971 with the poorly received Present Company. After moving to California to hone her writing skills in seclusion, Ian resurfaced three years later with Stars, which featured the song "Jesse," later a Top 30 hit for Roberta Flack.
• With 1975's Between the Lines, Ian eclipsed all of her previous success; not only did the LP achieve platinum status, but the delicate single "At Seventeen" reached the Top Three and won a Grammy. While subsequent releases like 1977's Latin-influenced Miracle Row, 1979's Night Rains, and 1981's Restless Eyes earned acclaim, they sold poorly; Ian was dropped by her label, and spent 12 years without a contract before emerging in 1993 with Breaking Silence (the title a reference to her recent admission of homosexuality), which pulled no punches in tackling material like domestic violence, frank eroticism, and the Holocaust. Similarly, 1995's Revenge explored prostitution and homelessness. Two years later Ian returned with Hunger; God & the FBI followed in the spring of 2000. A live set, Working Without a Net, appeared from Rude Girl Records in 2003, and a DVD, Live at Club Cafe, saw release in 2005. Folk Is the New Black appeared as a joint release from Rude Girl and Cooking Vinyl in 2006.

• This record came from a record store called "Phantasmagoria" which was located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Phantasmagoria went out of business in 1978. I purchased most of their unsold inventory some years later when I owned "Music Madness" - a new & used record store in Catasauqua.
• Phantasmagoria used round colored stickers to indicate the price of the albums. They had a sign on the wall with the color sticker combinations for the customers to use so they knew the price of the albums. Most of the albums still have these stickers on them, and in some rare cases, the stickers are written on. Some of the records have prices on them. This is the price you would have paid for the record in 1978 if you would have bought it at Phantasmagoria. Please don't confuse these prices with their current value.
• All sealed albums are being sold as collector's items and cannot be returned due to manufacturer's defects. It may be almost impossible to replace many of the sealed albums that I am selling.

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• All album reviews, credits and artist biographies are from All Music Guide. If you haven't been to their web site, you have to check it out. It's one of the most comprehensive music references on the internet. In some cases, credits may include reissue (CD) information. Obviously any credits referenced to CDs do not apply to this album release.

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