Best of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection

[janisian]

Track listings; all remastered from the original analogue sources unless otherwise indicated. Order follows the order they appear in the book itself.
DISC ONE:
Hair of Spun Gold (original)
god & the fbi (live solo)
Silly Habits (live from WWAN)
Society's Child (original)
Haven't I Got Eyes (original)
Jesse (original)
Stars (original)
Thankyous (original)
This Train Still Runs (live from WWAN)
At 17 - album version (original)
Love Is Blind (original)
Fly Too High (original)
Arms Around My Life (original)
His Hands (re-record, solo with guitar)
When Angels Cry (original)

DISC TWO:
My Tennessee Hills (original)
Every Love (original)
Some People's Lives (re-record, solo with guitar)
Stolen Fire (original)
Days Like These (re-record, solo with guitar)
Tattoo (live from WWAN)
Through the Years (re-record)
I Hear You Sing Again (original)
Joy (original)
My Autobiography (original)
BONUS TRACKS:
Hair of Spun Gold (original worktape, circa 1964)
I Long For You (recently discovered worktape, circa 1978)
Ginny the Flying Girl (original)
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye (original)
Today You're Mine (original)
At 17 - single version ( (original))

[Bat]

What an amazing list that is!! I don't know that I've heard half the original stuff, and certainly not the singles, so I'm really looking forward to adding this to my collection. I think you just keep getting better and better, outdoing yourself at every turn, Janis. What a life you lead! Whew.

[Mary6906]

Yes, what a great collection ... I'm very much looking forward to both the autobiography and the CD set.

Thanks, Janis.

[DaveM]

I'll take it....when will it be available? I don't have a stack of vinyl to bring to St. Louis (though I still have my rare, unsigned copy of "Folk Is The New Black")....this will do nicely if it's available.....

Given all of the material on here....is this by any chance "Unreleased 4"?

[John L]

Unreleased 4 is currently slated to be a "Digital Only" album and possibly an iTunes exclusive, release date will not be any time in the near future; With the book and this collection coming out, the additional release could get sort of lost in the noise. We have been compiling tracks slowly, but don't have quite enough yet. This new Best of Compilation was intended to be a definitive collection...and the only album EVER released in the US that has all of the hits in one place.

The album artwork for Best of Janis Ian (or BOJI in Rude Girl Records parlance) is also prety damn cool. The designer had several moments of inspiration and feels this is the best album art since Breaking Silence.

[david uk]

what a great selection of tracks! :)

[Anna from Dublin]

Ooooh I'm getting excited! This is all so great!

[David from London]

I may have missed it. Any news on when and from where this will be available. From the merchandise store, from Amazon?

[Anna from Dublin]

Presumably it will be released around the same time as the book, which is July 24th.

[Roady]

Wow, just reading the list of songs had me teary eyed. All that emotion in 2 CD's. Priceless. Timeless

Roady

[Eva]

Wonderful!

I have a question, Janis... You have written so many songs. How do you select which ones you would like on an album like this? Thanks!

Eva

[aabram]

Oh WOW..... (drool, drool, drool) :) Haven't heard one or two of these :o but everything else..... :cool: It will be GREAT!!!!!!

Thanks Janis. I hope to have my new prepaid credit card up and running by then :)

Annabel

[hoops]

wow, WOW....WOW WOW WOW. dangggggggggggg. wow~!
peace
hoops

[janisian]

Eva, the book itself selected the songs. Each chapter of the book is a song title, with a quote following the title. So all of those had to go on the CD's. Then there were songs I quoted within the book, either to illustrate how they were written ("Some People's Lives") or as points in my life. Those went in, too.
The only other choices were to put both versions of "At 17" on, which made sense in terms of radio play vs. what fans want. To put "Today You're Mine", because that's only been available in Japan. To put the original worktape of "Hair ofr Spun Gold", just because it was such a cool thing to have! I get requests for "Ginny" all the time, and it was amazing to find that Sony had the original and would allow me to use it. And the "Johnny" track is one I'm very proud of, so that went on.

In terms of availability, we're waiting for matchprints to double check that the final product will look like what we think it should look like (since we've only looked at it on computers so far). Once that's done, we'll know when the CD will be available. Technically, we'll probably make it available on the same day the book's available, July 24 - and we'll try to get organized enough to offer it on Amazon for pre-order, and to do a "buy this with this and get a break!"
We're planning to offer it on the website that way as well - buy both, get a break.
Last but not least, the book retail will be $26.95, and the CD retail will be $19.95. We're trying to figure out what to charge at the gigs; it has to be a round number, something where we don't have to make change much. The book's going to be really expensive for us to ship and cart around - we're thinking of asking $30 for it and $20 for the CD set, with a break if they buy both.
Any thoughts on that are welcome!
Thanks
Janis

[hoops]

i think $30 for the book and $15 for the cd is good, then the pair for $40...you'll end up making just $2 less than the full amount. just my opinion.
peace
hoops

[Roady]

Gosh there's 31 songs on the CD set. I'd pay more than $ 15 just to hear the original of "Hair of Spun Gold" - so I'd say 25 bucks for the book and $ 25 for the cd set. Forty Dollars for both or even start at $ 45.00

[DaveM]

A weird question: did Sony actually manage to locate the original masters for the songs? If I recall correctly, some were "lost" at one point and you were remastering CDs (notably "Between The Lines") from second-generation tapes.

Will pay whatever I have to if it gets me the REAL "original master tapes". Knowing what you can do with an analogue recording, Janis....I can't wait.

[Anna from Dublin]

Given the hassle of carting the books to gigs - I think $30 for book. $20 for CD and $45 for both is a bargain.

And when you're coming to Europe, I would leave those same figures and just use Euros - though you'll need a lot of €5 notes for change since the €50 note is the most common.

If you are doing sterling I would suggest £25 for book; £15 for CD and £40 for both.

Anna.

[Anna from Dublin]

Dave, I don't think she's going to sell you the Master Tapes for those figures ;) But I know what you mean! Me too. :D

[lucille]

Given the hassle of carting the books to gigs - I think $30 for book. $20 for CD and $45 for both is a bargain.

And when you're coming to Europe, I would leave those same figures and just use Euros - though you'll need a lot of €5 notes for change since the €50 note is the most common.

If you are doing sterling I would suggest £25 for book; £15 for CD and £40 for both.

Anna.

But wouldn't UK Amazon be offering a better price? Just a thought.:)

[Eva]

Eva, the book itself selected the songs. Each chapter of the book is a song title, with a quote following the title. So all of those had to go on the CD's. Then there were songs I quoted within the book, either to illustrate how they were written ("Some People's Lives") or as points in my life. Those went in, too.
The only other choices were to put both versions of "At 17" on, which made sense in terms of radio play vs. what fans want. To put "Today You're Mine", because that's only been available in Japan. To put the original worktape of "Hair ofr Spun Gold", just because it was such a cool thing to have! I get requests for "Ginny" all the time, and it was amazing to find that Sony had the original and would allow me to use it. And the "Johnny" track is one I'm very proud of, so that went on.
Thank you for your answer, Janis. It's clear to me now. I am always interested in choices and process.

Eva

[Anna from Dublin]

Amazon always discounts the official price of books so the same would be true in the US, but I think if people want to buy it there and then and get it autographed, that's OK. But you probably have a point in that the differential is probably too much (in what I suggested for Sterling). It probably would be better to go for £20 for the book and £15 for the CD and possibly £32.50 for both with correct change!

[janisian]

Dave, there's a new fellow at Sony, and he's been ENORMOUSLY helpful and wonderful (Steve Berkowitz, for thoe of you who want to send fan mail.) Steve and his cohort, Didier, managed to locate the original masters on everything, and made them available to us. So yes, this is as good as it gets...

[DaveM]

I'm most impressed, Janis....and I'm sure the sound is truly glorious.

[David_Gardiner]

Going back to prices, the euro is almost the same value as the American dollar but the pound sterling is worth almost twice as much (something like $1.98 or $1.97 to one pound) so Anna from Dublin's figures and some previous suggestions are a bit on the high side I think. The pre-order price for the book on Amazon UK is £12.28. I think you might have to limit it to about £15 for the book and maybe £10 for the CD. Those prices are convenient to pay in notes and won't involve you in too much messing around with change. I wouldn't bother with a discount for the two together, I don't think it would affect sales at all to be honest. These figures may seem small but remember you double them if you're talking in dollars.

[Anna from Dublin]

Just for the record the Euro is most certainly not the same value as the dollar. You currently get 1.55-1.60 US dollar for each Euro. And a Euro buys you approx. 78-80 pence Sterling.

Having said that I think it all depends what the final sticker price on the book in Sterling is; not what it's being offered on Amazon. It may well be that Janis mightn't even be able to buy it wholesale for £15. And I think a double CD for £10 is too cheap. But hey....what will be, will be. One way or another Janis won't rip us off, I'm sure.

[Dar]

WOW! That's going to be such a great CD!
So many of us have already pre-ordered the book though, so I guess we won't get a purchase break on the CD. Oh well! No matter, I'd be buying it anyway! I think 30 for the book, 25 for the CD, if they buy both they get 'em for $50. That CD is WELL worth the price, especially when you consider that itunes charges a buck a song!!

[abe]

Wow, it's cool. I can't wait!!

[diver_boy]

can't wait to buy it. Great stuff on here for a newbie!

[amelio747]

This is most amazing! What a truly great project Janis! So many new songs and ones I haven't heard. I would love to hear a remastered version of "Letter To John", but hey can't get everything (but it is a REALLY good song - did you write it Janis?). Am so looking forward to this CD and the book of course! :)

[Anna from Dublin]

Yes, Janis wrote it Amelio.

[saxman]

Ok Janis when can i order the album ? i have money this week not sure about next week when are you comming to the west coast again ? My Dr says i need to see you again. My daughter Lonnye is moving to Seattle so anytime anywhere on the west coast would be good. Cant wait to see and hear you again. Love and Peace , Mike

[Dougster]

I have that "kid at Christmas" feeling again, and it does not come very often anymore!!! I CAN'T WAIT for this!!!!

[Elliott]

I would love to have a special bookmarker, or whatever you call those things, for "the Book". They probably don't cost much to have made, and I would be willing to pay more to have one autographed, along with the book and the new cd collection. They would be easy to tote around the world too. Just a thought, and it hardly hurt at all, this time...

[Roady]

Janis and pals Eric and Don from Independent Mastering
http://independentmastering.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/janis-ian-ecdc.jpg
Janis Ian’s new autobiography is being accompanied by a double-CD set, mastered at Independent Mastering. Sony and Universal came through with the original analog source tapes for the early cuts, and we already had some of the masters from later albums like Billie’s Bones and Folk Is The New Black, which were done here at Independent. All in all, most of the 31 sides on these discs are from the original source material, or close to the original source. Janis is a stickler for quality and we love that! From IndependentMastering.com (http://independentmastering.com/index.php/studio-news/best-of-janis-ian-the-autobiography-songs/)

[Mimi]

I'm so looking forward to the book AND the cd set. Thanks for sharing this, Roady!

MIMI

[JoanM]

Best of Janis Ian - The Autobiography Collection by Janis Ian (Audio CD - Jul 25, 2008)
Buy new: $19.95
Available for Pre-order. This item will be released on Jul 25, 2008.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Released in 2008, this collection is intended to be the definitive Best of compilation. All the tracks mentioned in Janis' autobiography Society's Childare available on this 2 CD Set

All songs are digitally re-mastered from the original analogue recordings unless otherwise indicated. Songs marked * are either previously unreleased, or recorded especially for this album.

I found this on amazon.com; it includes a picture of the cover and song list for each disc. I think it's a fair guess that it will be on this site as well as at shows. jm

[Kathleen Brogan]

I just noticed last evening that the CD is already available for pre-order on Amazon. I love the rainbow colors on the outfit!

[Mimi]

... but I do not find anything like the Autobiography Collection on the amazon.com page... :confused: ... had been looking for it lst night and today.

Mimi:confused:

[Dee]

It's right here Mimi: Best of Janis Ian - The Autobiography Collection (http://www.amazon.com/Best-Janis-Ian-Autobiography-Collection/dp/B001ADSGNO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1213477330&sr=1-1)

List Price: $19.95

Price: $19.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.

Pre-order Price Guarantee.

This title will be released on July 25, 2008.

[David_Gardiner]

I said a few posts back:

I think you might have to limit it to about £15 for the book and maybe £10 for the CD. Those prices are convenient to pay in notes and won't involve you in too much messing around with change. I wouldn't bother with a discount for the two together, I don't think it would affect sales at all to be honest.
but I hadn't realised it was a two-CD set. For that I think £10 is probably a bit cheap if you were selling it on tour: £15 for the CD and £15 for the book might be a better compromise – more if they were signed. Anyway, I'm sure Janis will get more expert advice than mine before the situation arises. I still think there isn't much point in a discount for joint purchase – I think people who want both will be quite happy to pay the full prices.

[janisian]

I'm pretty settled on $20 USD for the CD set, and $25 for the book. The book lists at $26.95, so there's a small break there...really, I've got to earn the manufacturing costs back as quickly as possible!

[David_Gardiner]

That would be pretty much the same as my suggestion above in pounds sterling. Each of them would translate as a little bit under $30. I hope you do get over here again before too long!

[coffeegyrl]

When is Janis going to appear on Letterman, Ellen, etc. to promote the book and cd?

Who do we call, write, e-mail to make it happen?

[Mimi]

Thanks, Dee! Found it now and found and preordered it on amazon.de as well!
It said it will be relased in Germany on July 22!

Mimi

[Dee]

You're welcome, Mimi.