The Light at the End of the Line

The Light at the End of the Line is a 2022 studio album by American folk musician Janis Ian, billed as her final solo studio album. The album has received positive reviews from critics and was intended to be paired with a farewell tour which Ian had to cancel due to laryngitis. Ian intended to continue with other creative pursuits, including writing after retiring as a musician. The music was mostly composed in the three years prior to the album being published and was released on Ian's Rude Girl label.

Reception
Liz Thomson of The Arts Desk rated The Light at the End of the Line five out of five stars, praising Ian's songwriting and "striking lyrics", continuing that "the album contains the tenderest of ballads". The site included this among their best albums of 2022, with Thomson encouraging readers to start with this entry in Ian's discography. In Hot Press, Jackie Hayden gave this album a 7.5 out of 10, stating that "Ian's voice belies her age" and he also praised the session musicians. In No Depression, John Amen characterized this release as "Janis Ian moves seamlessly between activistic declarations and descriptive verse, her melodies crystalline, her voice imbued with hard-won wisdom". William Dart of Radio New Zealand's New Horizons called this album one of "unflinching gravitas [which] emanates the glow of a life well lived". In Record Collector, Charles Waring scored this release 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a sublime epitaph to an extraordinary career". Uncut's Terry Staunton gave this album a 7 out of 10 for combining "senior wisdom" with "headstrong youthfulness".

In 2022, PopMatters published a ranking of Ian's best albums, with The Light at the End of the Line placing eighth and Charles Donovan writing "The Light at the End of the Line is not just a good one – it says goodbye by linking the different phases of Ian’s career. There’s the clever, caustic political bent of her earliest work, the reflective, sophisticated pop of her CBS years, the folk-orientated styles of her 1990s Nashville comeback, and where she stands today. It’s all here."

The Light at the End of the Line was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 65th Grammy Awards.

Track listing
All songs written by Janis Ian.
 * 1) "I’m Still Standing" – 3:13
 * 2) "Resist" – 4:30
 * 3) "Stranger" – 3:05
 * 4) "Swannanoa" – 3:29
 * 5) "Wherever Good Dreams Go" – 4:58
 * 6) "Perfect Little Girl" – 3:18
 * 7) "Nina" – 3:26
 * 8) "Dancing with the Dark" – 3:19
 * 9) "Dark Side of the Sun" – 3:06
 * 10) "Summer in New York" – 3:23
 * 11) "The Light at the End of the Line" – 2:51
 * 12) "Better Times Will Come" – 7:30

Personnel
"I’m Still Standing" "Resist" "Stranger" "Swannanoa" "Wherever Good Dreams Go"
 * Janis Ian – vocal, guitars, production
 * Viktor Krauss – upright bass, engineering on upright bass
 * Randy Leago – cymbals, piano, engineering on percussion and piano, final mixing
 * Jon Perry – engineering on vocals and guitars
 * Janis Ian – acoustic guitars, main vocal, production
 * Jared Anderson – editing, final mixing
 * Randy Leago – instrumentation, engineering on Leago's parts, editing, preliminary mixing, production
 * Jon Perry – engineering on Ian's parts
 * Janis Ian – vocal, nylon guitar, production
 * Randy Leago – harmonica, harmonica engineering, final mixing
 * Jon Perry – guitar and vocal engineering
 * Janis Ian – lead vocal, acoustic guitars, production
 * Jared Anderson – final mixing
 * Nuala Kennedy – Irish whistle, harmonies, engineering on whistle and harmonies
 * Jon Perry – engineering on vocals and Ian's parts
 * John Whelan – button accordion, engineering on accordion, arrangement
 * Recorded live in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

"Perfect Little Girl" "Nina" "Dancing with the Dark"
 * Janis Ian – vocal, acoustic guitar, production
 * Philip Clark – engineering
 * Janis Ian – vocal, piano, production
 * Brandon Bell – engineering
 * Janis Ian – piano, vocal, production
 * Gordon Hammond – engineering
 * Recorded straight to digital audio tape at Granny White Studios

"Dark Side of the Sun" "Summer in New York" "The Light at the End of the Line" "Better Times Will Come Technical personnel'''
 * Janis Ian – vocal, acoustic guitar, production
 * Janis Ian – vocal, guitar, production
 * Gordon Hammond – engineering
 * Janis Ian – vocal, piano, production
 * Brandon Bell – engineering on piano and vocal
 * Randy Leago – clarinet, engineering on clarinet, final mixing
 * Janis Ian – vocals, acoustic guitar, production
 * Jared Anderson – mixing
 * Trevor Bystrom – engineering
 * Janis Ian – lead vocals, rhythm guitars, production
 * Roy Agee – trombone, banjo
 * Jared Anderson – editing, mixing
 * Jim Brock – percussion
 * Sam Bush – mandolin
 * Jeff Coffin – soprano saxophone
 * John Cowan – lead vocals, backing vocals
 * Maeve Gilchrist – Celtic lever harp
 * Vince Gill – acoustic guitar solo
 * Jim Hoke – clarinet, baritone saxophone
 * Viktor Krauss – upright bass, resonator guitar, synthesizer, percussion, production
 * Steven May/BreviT – percussion, synthesizer
 * Jim Oblon – electric guitars
 * Diane Schuur – scatting solo, backing vocals
 * Andrea Zonn – violin, backing vocals
 * Dan Schuman, veer90.com – design
 * Piper Payne – mastering at Infrasonic Mastering, Nashville, Tennessee, United States