Between the Lines

Janis Ian made a sensational debut at fifteen with ‘Society’s Child’ and was hailed as a prodigy. Across her four albums for Verve, she left a strong impression as an intelligent young woman with a precocious talent, gradually broadening her expression before stepping away from music for a time. Roberta Flack’s 1973 hit recording of her ‘Jesse’ helped set her return in motion. From this second album after her move to CBS, ‘At Seventeen’ reached No. 3 in the US, establishing her as a singer of adult love.

With bossa nova-style guitar behind her, ‘At Seventeen’ explores the inner conflict of an ‘unattractive girl’. A Grammy-winning vocal, at once fragile and emotional, makes it a jewel of a song, and the album itself reached No. 1. Brooks Arthur’s production gives Ian’s slightly wistful voice a distinctive, dampened texture, while the careful arrangements stay gently beside it. In Japan, ‘Love Is Blind’ became a hit on its own.