Janis Ian (1978 album)

Janis Ian, also titled Janis Ian II to avoid confusion with her debut album of the same name, is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, originally released in 1978.

Before the release of Janis Ian, the singer had been spending most of her time touring Japan, where her previous studio albums Aftertones and Miracle Row had been much more successful than in the United States, where her early 1978 live album Remember... would never be issued. Janis Ian was recorded in late 1977 but not released until her return to the United States in the late summer of 1978, by which time she had been engaged and married to Portuguese novelist Tino Sargo.

When Janis Ian was released, the singer was pleased, and the record at first appeared to be doing well. However, the early commercial promise of Janis Ian faded rapidly, and the album would continue a commercial decline in all territories, reaching only number 120 in the United States and number 97 in Australia.

Critical reception
The Globe and Mail wrote: "Perhaps it's the toughness of some of the rhythms that suggests she's hardening a little, but it isn't enough to shake off the soft-spoken image, buttressed as it is throughout the first side and, more quietly, at the end of the second, with that toughness."

Personnel

 * Joseph Wissert – producer
 * Ed Sprigg – engineer
 * John "BJ John" Smith – assistant engineer
 * Ted Spencer – assistant engineer
 * Mike Reese – mastering
 * Ron Frangipane – conductor

Musicians

 * Janis Ian – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
 * Wayne Andre – trombone
 * Claire Bay – backing vocals
 * Richard Davis – upright bass
 * Sal DiTroia – guitar
 * Steve Gadd – drums
 * Al Gorgoni – guitar
 * Artie Kaplan – baritone saxophone
 * Jik Malin – percussion
 * Jeff Mironov – guitar
 * Tony Studd – bass trombone