Customer Reviews

Billie's Bones

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On my first listen to "Billie's Bones" I wondered, "Where's the punch?" It was a nice enough listen, but I wasn't struck by my usual awe that Janis Ian inspires. So I listened again...this time really listened and I ended the CD thinking that this is the most consistently powerful, creative writing I've heard from her (or anyone) in years. The writing is extraordinary. There are too many perfect lines from too many songs on this album for me to elaborate. Briefly stated: this album should be used as a teaching guide for high school and college students who need to hear written thought reduced to a few exquisite words.

Okay, I'll admit it. I've been a Janis Ian devotee since I was a teenager identifying with her infamous "At Seventeen." Every time Janis is in town, I make it a point to see her concert. There is not one person in all of the music industry, in any genre, who even compares. Janis has it all. She is the quintessential renaissance talent. Her songwriting gift outshines in every possible genre. Her guitar playing is above and beyond the best in rock, jazz and blues. Her tender vocals express the pain and joy in every lyric line. And with "Billie's Bones," Janis has once again risen to the occasion on every track. As a followup album to her "Live Without A Net" CD (also a must buy), "Billie's Bones" speaks to all ages.

There simply isn't a better songwriter to be found. Janis makes every word count. Every note rings true.

If you think you know Janis Ian, she proves that there's much more to discover. If you've never heard Janis Ian, buy "Billie's Bones" and "Live Without A Net." And then get thee to her next concert for an amazing performance!

I guarantee you that once you've experienced Janis Ian's music, you will be moved by the power of her talents.

"Billie's Bones" continues the creative streak for Janis Ian who is repeatedly hitting artistic heights. Four songs on the set comprise a bit of a travelogue. The most familiar for me is a song I fell in love with on Joan Baez's 1992 CD "Play Me Backwards." Janis writes "Amsterdam" with Buddy Mondlock who recently worked with Art Garfunkel & Maia Sharp on the gorgeous "Everything Waits to Be Noticed" CD. Janis marries a particularly haunting melody with intricate lyrical images, "Just the scent of perfume on the linen, just the print of a palm on the pillow, just the hint of the moon from the window, Amsterdam." "Paris In Your Eyes" boasts a romantically drenched lyric with a soft acoustic melody, "Every time I touched you, I could taste a breath of spring." Another stop on Janis' travelogue is the excellent instrumental "Marching on Glasgow." The last song with a geographic title reference is "My Tennessee Hills" with Dolly Parton's lovely supporting vocal. The most powerful song for me combines a Billie Holiday "Strange Fruit" jazz-blues approach to the death of Matthew Shepard, "What makes a man a man? The cut of a coat, the hint of a tan? It's not who you love, but whether you can, What makes a man a man." On "Save Somebody" Janis' distinctive melody combines with an incredibly poetic lyric, "There's a crack in the heavens & a tear in the sky; it cuts through the shadows living in her eyes." Janis' tribute to Mary Black is quite lovely. If one measured the creative high points of Janis Ian's career, an appropriate metaphor would be the Andes Mountains. This is another exquisite set by one of our master musicians. Bravo!

Billie's Bones is a virtual "Tour De Force" of music! It runs around all musical sytles. Jazzy, political "Matthew", Country "Mockingbird", "Paris In Your Eyes" (unexpected twang, yet a cello solo at the end), "Forever Young" and "My Tennessee Hills" where Janis duets with Dolly Parton. I enjoy that one much more than "Memphis" with Willie Nelson on "God & the FBI". There's even a European influence with the Celtic style instrumental "Marching on Glasgow", and the poetic "Mary's Eyes", tribute to artist Mary Black. Once again, Janis is as gutsy and controversial as always, I am most impressed with "When I Lay Down", which reminds me of "Restless Eyes" from 1981, yet the statement is even bolder! Anyone who has lost a parent will tear up at "I Hear You Sing Again" One of the catchiest tunes is "Dead Men Walking". The sales are already heating up on this release from late February of 2004. This is a must have for Janis Ian collectors, but even if you only own the popular "Between the Lines", I know you'll enjoy this one. We "Rudies" are already fondly calling it "Unreleased 4" (an inside joke)!

Norah Jones is lovely, easy to listen to. Indigo Girls are the same as they've always been. But only Janis Ian combines cutting edge songwriting with astonishing growth, as a vocalist, player, and writer.
This album is extraordinary. It has heart, it has truth, it has everything you'd ever want. Best of all, it grows on you with each hearing.
I have a feeling this album is destined to be the same kind of classic Ian's "Between the Lines" was.
If you miss out on this album because it's not being hyped by a major label, that's a real pity.

This is a gorgeous CD;
Took me back to the '70's and all the soul searching of Janis's early stuff... peaceful moods, deep thoughts - ; Dolly Parton duet just lovely!
Buy it.

Janis Ian has created finely crafted collections of pop songs for nearly 40 years, with more than 20 albums to her credit. As a long-time fan who has stuck with Ian through thick and thin, I'll be the first to admit that the quality of her work has been inconsistent. But with Billie's Bones, she has created something of remarkable, if sometimes subtle, depth and grace, a collection that ranks among the top five of her long career and undoubtedly among the finest pop recordings of the year. I'll leave it to other reviewers to describe the music. But I will say that these songs are profound in their insight into human experience and character, arguably in the universal and meaningful way that seemingly sometimes only Bob Dylan can achieve. There is self-examination, devotion, betrayal, tragedy, death, doubt, faith and redemption. If this all sounds too heavy, take note that it occurs without self-pity and is presented with grace and memorable melody. The end result, expressed best in the final song, When I Lay Down, is a sort of liberation of the spirit, without regret or guilt.

ONCE AGAIN IAN'S GENIUS SHINES THROUGH.THIS IS A WONDERFUL CD.IAN'S GUITAR PLAYING ON "MARCHING ON GLASGOW" IS STELLAR."BILLIE'S BONES" IS A LYRICAL AND MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO HER LONGTIME IDOL, BILLIE HOLIDAY AND "MATTHEW" IS A HAUNTINGLY SULTRY ACCOUNT OF THE MATTHEW SHEPPARD MURDER.ALWAYS HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THE REST,IAN IS THE MOST PROLIFIC SONGWRITER OF THIS ERA AND ALSO THE PREVIOUS ERAS.HER TALENT KEEPS ON GROWING.THIS CD IS MASTERFULLY DONE AND THIS AMOUNT OF TALENT SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED.

Janis Ian has once again, with her 18th studio release, given us an album of superior songwriting. The opening / title track which pays homage to her idol, Billie Holiday (with whom she shares a birthday - BH: 7th April 1915; JI: 7th April 1951) has a somewhat haunted quality which is also found to some extent on a later track Amsterdam. The lyrics are cleverly woven around melodies and rhythms which paint images and stories that never fail to intrigue. The masterpiece of the album for me is "Mathew", with its jazzy feel telling the story of Mathew Shepherd who was murdered in the USA because he was gay. Ian does not shirk from the brutality of the murder but wraps the poignant message in a sultry vehicle reminiscent of the classic Nina Simone song "Strange Fruit". Other tracks have a decidedly country feel from the delightfully lilting "My Tennessee Hills" (a duet with Dolly Parton) to the upbeat country-rock of "Mockingbird" which reminds this listener of some of the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" style of country music. For those in search of the classic Janis Ian heart-rending ballads, you will not be disappointed: "I hear you sing again" and "When I Lay Down" and to a lesser extent, "Mary's Eyes" and "Paris in Your Eyes" should more than fit the bill. This is an authentic album recorded over 6 days in total -- no over production nor clever effects, just wonderful writing; good musicians and that magical Janis Ian voice still sounding as good as ever.

Thirteen glorious songs of heartbreak, death, murder, lies, deception & failure. Bookended by the singer's paean to Billie Holiday in the title track and the tortuous confessional of "When I Lay Down", this latest from Janis Ian is consistent with her entire body of work: a solitary whisper that holds more power than a thousand screams. For it's in Janis' ghostly voice that you hear at once the longing of the unheard, the ignored, the forgotten ones. It's there in her elegy to Matthew Shepherd, where in a few words - "Now the stars are nailed to the sky/The moon is pinned like a butterfly/And I'm afraid to shine too bright/since the day they took his life" - she places you there with that lonely boy on that cold night in Wyoming. Even her love songs hold a presentiment of failure and loss as in "Paris in Your eyes" & "Amsterdam". A whisper that is well worth the listen.