The Bottom Line Encore Collection

Product Description:

Personnel: Janis Ian (vocals, guitar, piano); Scott Zito (vocals, guitar, keyboards); John Crowder (vocals, fiddle, bass); Arti Dixson (vocals, drums, percussion).

Recorded live at The Bottom Line, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Pete Fornatale.

Ian has never recorded an "official" live album, so this set--originally recorded for broadcast on a New York City radio station--is good to have, especially in that both Ian and her crack band are in top form. Vocally, Ian is a bit of a revelation--when she wants to, as she does on the folkish opening "From Me to You"--she can belt; in fact, she sounds eerily like the late Sandy Denny. The song selection is also likely to please longtime fans; all her hits are her, including "Jesse" and "At Seventeen"; bonus tracks include an alternate version of the latter, as well as a surprising revisiting of "Society's Child," where Ian chats about the genesis of the song with deejay Pete Fornatale.