Customer Reviews

God & the FBI

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This new release from Janis Ian is a terrific album which is definitely worth a listen for anyone who has ever liked Ian's music, as well as newcomers to her work. The lyrical touching element of Ian's work is well represented in a wonderful song about death: On the Other Side (which includes some beautiful harmonies on the "requiem" at the end of the track). Also in the typical Janis Ian tradition are: She Must be Beautiful (a live version that benefits from the simplicity of the piano accompaniment) and Days Like These. The upbeat numbers include the title track, Murdering Stravinsky and The Last Comeback. However, the best upbeat tracks have a slightly country feel that suits the singer, and include Jolene, Play like a Girl and Boots like Emmy Lou's. One of the finest jewels of the album, in my opinion, is the ballad Memphis which is a duet with Willie Nelson. This is a truly thought provoking and different album from an artist who never ceases to develop her talent and songwriting craft. An inspiration to us all!

The truth I learned at 17 was that Janis Ian was going to a formidable musical force in my life, through re-invention and resurgence she has been with me for over thirty years and still she has the power to surprise. God and the FBI is a staggeringly good piece of work, with Janis' voice a virtuoso instrument easily encompassing the varying styles, from the haunting passion of She must be Beautiful to the electric insistence of When you love Someone, I was captivated anew. The Last Comeback, hopefully not a prophesy, is a powerhouse singalong with a darker undercurrent. The playful "Boots like EmmyLou" a poke in the eye for those who insist that Janis has no sense of humour. Jolene and Murdering Stravinsky are commercial, upbeat winners and this whole CD will be on my favoutites list for a long time. If you don't know her work, this is a hell of an introduction

I was pleasantly surprised to learn a CD I heard in a store was by an artist that, well, I had never liked, Janis Ian. I had found her earlier music self-righteously liberal.

"God and the FBI" is one of the best crafted album of the new millennium, a grab bag of musical styles. The more you listen the better it gets.

The lead off title song "God and the FBI" is the best song on the album, reminiscent of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" with a funkier beat, and similar subject matter, evokes the paranoia of the 60's, but with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Janis' lead guitar player even sneaks in a few notes from "Purple Haze"!

The album is uniformly tuneful with a complex, many layered production. All sorts of sneaky stuff in the sides and background!

As is stated below, Janis pokes gentle fun at Emmie Lou Harris's rhinestone boots and Hummingbird guitar. Sings an eerie first-person song about a hero who saved a group of children and we come to find is a ghost. A pean to obsessive love "When you Love Someone" has a whisper chorus like The Doors "Riders on the Storm".

The album meanders through the vast variety of styles with its center of gravity in folk rock and country and end with the "Stravinsky" song and layered voices coming at you from different directions like the end of the Beatles "Good Day, Sunshine". Janis Ian's voice occationally sounds like Sarah McLaughlin. She manages to maintain her sense of humour and perspective throughout.

Deserves a lot of airplay. If you've written off Janis Ian before, you will be really surprised. MY Rating - Four and 1/2 stars - the best music Janis Ian has ever done.

Something in the deep dark recesses of my mind tells me that if Janis were male she would have Dylan's success.

note the "canadian" spelling of words like humour (we are different from americans, eh!).

song by song

god & the fbi - one of my personal favourites because of my passion for dylan. matches her male counterpart. great reality based song but most won't get it. too narrow based to be a hit.

on the other side - the "hit". has trademark hook line of a hit. radio stations should push this. universal appeal.

memphis - country hit with some crossover. Janis and willie are both amazing on this.

jolene - great song. would make a good follow-up hit to "on the other side".

when you love someone - potential follow-up hit. another good song with a "hook".

play like a girl - most will "get" this song but maybe not enough to make it a hit. too bad for those that don't.

days like these - to me this sounds like the Janis of old that i had my original crush on ( my current crush is of a more mature nature) which is fine with me. traditional and beautiful.

boots like emmy lou's - and the hits just keep coming. this is a great rousing song with beautiful humour. a country crossover hit.

she must be beautiful - seriously beautiful song. doesn't get much better than this.

the last comeback - another personal favourite. this may not be hit material but for what it's worth, i love it. shows off Janis' maturity as a person and artist, and her commitment to honesty.

murdering stravinsky - this is likely to end up as my favourite song on the cd. tremendous artistic merit. lyrics and music at the genius level. not hit material, art at this level rarely is.

this cd is full of hits. the cd stands on its own as a major hit, separate from any individual song. beside several radio hits, several would be great on movie soundtracks.

it is gratifying to know that my renewed passion for Janis and her art is not misplaced. this is likely to remain as one of the best cd's i will ever experience. biased or unbiased, this is a 10 on a scale of 10.

allan

This is one of Ian's better works (and yes that's saying a lot), with an edgier feel than most of her others (in other words, it rocks a little more). The songs/stories, most of them somewhat sparse of words, generally have a point of view that is reflective and inward, yet somehow also urgent and disarming. Highlights: Memphis (a pretty duet with Willie Nelson); On the Other Side (a powerfully sung and orchestrated glimpse of the before- and after-life of a deceased hero/loved one) and Murdering Stravinsky (a techno-rockish stream of consciousness song about something, though I'm not sure what...it doesn't matter, it's a powerful, catchy piece of music). All in all, a very good work from an original, outstanding singer-songwriter. One complaint: Ian has developed a habit of placing a concert-recorded song in the middle of a studio album. While that trick worked with the fabulous Acousticville on the previous CD, Hunger, it doesn't work this time with the weak She Must Be Beautiful. Minor problem though, this is a recommended CD. By the way, if you think Janis Ian is too middle-aged or too square to be contemporary, just pretend you've never heard of her before and listen to this collection.

Janis Ian's latest offering is an overall fine collection of pop songs with competent lyrics and strong melodies in the tradition of the 70s and 80s singer-songwriters. Having listened throughout the years to all of Janis Ian's music (through her most commercially successful years of the 70s and early 80s...and then into the 90s when she reemerged with the breathtaking "Breaking Silence"), I can honestly say once again with confidence that she has produced another very strong, if somewhat mixed, collection of tunes.

Janis Ian's true gift of melody is present throughout "God & The FBI"...a gift which is sorely lacking in many other present-day musical artists. Here is a woman who can write, compose, sing beautifully, play guitar and piano...and is a real thinker! Packages like Janis Ian are a rare find in the music industry today.

The strongest section of "God & The FBI" begins with the rocker "Play Like A Girl"...moves into a gentle ballad "Days Like These"...teases with the let-loose "Boots Like Emmy Lou's" and concludes with a stunning, live torch song "She Must Be Beautiful". These songs are worth the price of the album alone.

A truly beautiful and melodic ballad with Willie Nelson called "Memphis" is a real treat. Other tunes like "On the Other Side" and "The Last Comeback" remind the listener of the confident musical arrangements she created on "Breaking Silence" and her regretfully overlooked small masterpiece "Revenge" from the mid-90s.

Surprisingly, the weaker songs on the album begin and conclude the set. "God & The FBI" is upbeat and funky, but is also somewhat repetitious and bland. "Murdering Stravinsky" is an offbeat and daring choice to conclude the album, but wraps everything up on a rather uncharacteristically chilly note.

Nonetheless, every project by Janis Ian continually reminds uf of the days when artists like Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby & Nash, Billy Joel and scores of other singer-songwriters ruled the airwaves with melody, harmony, heart and soul.

Janis Ian is back and has released one of her best works since "At Seventeen" and "Society's Child." The new CD features a blues twinged " God and The FBI" as its opening track. This song tells a story about Janis' own experience with the FBI. On " Boot's like Emmylou's" Janis sings about Emmylou Harris. My favorite songs are " The Last Comeback" a song about losing fame, and "Murdering Stravinsky" an excellant avante garde piece. Janis's new cd is amazing and presents many unreal musical ideas.

Janis Ian is a tiny woman with a tiny voice. And yet, tiny voice notwithstanding, she packs an emotional punch infinitely more powerful than, say, Celine Dion. No bombast. No pyrotechnics or vocal acrobatics. Just her voice & her guitar. And, of course, her songs, which have always dared to take us to places that we may not wish to go. "God & The FBI" is no exception. Her tune "She Must Be Beautiful" is one of those songs that sends chills down my spine. Again, her vocals are understated, and yet she captures an emotional connection with the song in a way that 10,000 Celines or Michael Boltons never could. Effortlessly. Another pleasant surprise was hearing her duet with Willie Nelson, "Memphis," which I see was written with country star Deana Carter. I don't know why it should surprise me that their voices should blend so beautifully -- after all, Willie was able to pull off a duet with Joni Mitchell on "Cool Water" from her "Chalk Mark In a Rainstorm" album. But it does surprise me.

From what I can gather from the liner notes, this CD was made for virtually no money, as Ian hasn't exactly burned up the pop charts in decates. There is even an intimation that Ian may retire as a recording artist, which would be a crime, given her body of work that has spanned decades and has been consistently excellent.

What a disappointment to read the Amazon.com review of this record - and how unfortunate that the reviewer apparently started out with so many preconceptions. There is absolutely NOTHING strained about the up-tempo tracks on this CD! In fact, for my money, it's the best one Ian's done since Between the Lines. I discovered Ian a few years ago while hunting through my parent's old LP collection. She is an amazing songwriter and singer. When you listen to this CD, you'll find it easy to see where everyone from the Indigo Girls to Jewel got their true inspiration. If you want the real thing, start at the source - and Ian is it!

I saw Janis live last night in Nashville - drove over from Kentucky at the urging of friends. What a talent! And I bought the CD after the show, have been playing it over and over since then. I'm a brand new fan, and this woman is a monster. Her guitar playing makes me drool, her stage presence is phenomenal - I've never seen or heard anything like it. If you only buy one CD this month, buy this one!