question for Janis about writing and editors

[saxman]

Janis , Have you ever written any song or lyrics that have been edited by someone else . and the original version was cut to fit into a time frame or how can i say it , has anything you have written been modified and released without your concent . or verses edited without you concent . Do you have any uncompleted works out there anywhere , that you would like to restore to the original state ?
i know that years ago record companys would release shorter versions of songs to fit the 2 to 3 minute allowed time the radio station had to play a song.
Or writing articles for mags .etc

Just woke up wondering today and thats entered my mind
Is there any songs that you would like to add lyrics to?

[janisian]

Mike, I've always been fortunate that it's never been done without my consent - at least, not that I know!

[hoops]

though it sucks beans that "Here comes the night" had to be cut down to 3:00 time to fit the movie. Someday i dream of having film of Janis doing the full live version on her guitar.
peace
hoops

[Jay]

Hoops I hear ya.
I'be not been fortunate to see Janis in concert yet.(living in south America makes it almost impossible for me to attend).
I missed the concerts in Texas by 2 days, that's the closest I came,
I have always wanted to hear the guitar version, because if I remember well, Janis was not completely satisfied with the version on Restless Eyes.
I however think that the album is one of her best and have always wondered how that song could be improved upon. (Guess I have to take Janis' word :) )

[Jim in Chattanooga, TN]

Jay,

"Here Comes The Night" is on the "Night Rains" album.

I saw Janis perform "HCTN" with just a guitar and it was terrific.

Hope you get to see her in concert some day.

Jim

[Jay]

Of course Jim, my bad.
I was half asleep, when answering the post(around 5:30 AM).

It's one of my favorite tracks of the night rains album, the other favorites being memories and have mercy love.

Restless Eyes however still ranks for me as one of the best

[hoops]

Jay, I hope you get to see Janis someday. the whole experience is like a dream. Here Comes the Night was meant to be about 7 minutes long and even though it was written for the piano, I prefer the guitar version. you can see the full piano version on "Janis Ian '79, Live in Japan and Australia" availible in the DVD section of the Janis Ian store. it's incredible
peace
hoops

[stardust]

Find a way to see her live, Jay. I've been a fan of Janis' music for more than forty years, but after seeing her live the first time, I became an addict - and happily so.

[Roady]

Janis' guitar version of "Hear Comes the Night" is my favorite song from the 2008 setlists (not including St. Louis). And from the applause I heard, it's one of the audience's favorites too. Hope I get to hear it again in 2010.

[Kathleen Brogan]

"Here Comes the Night" is also on the soundtrack for "The Bell Jar". It's on the closing credits.

[Kathleen Brogan]

I know that is wasn't without consent....but John Cougar Mellencamp does "To the River", Janis' "All Roads to the River" with slightly different lyrics and it's one of the only song covers of Janis' where the title is changed.

[Marcia Drummergal]

Janis' guitar version of "Hear Comes the Night" is my favorite song from the 2008 setlists (not including St. Louis). And from the applause I heard, it's one of the audience's favorites too. Hope I get to hear it again in 2010.


It is (one) of the songs on my upcoming Nashville request list......crossing fingers!!

Marcia :D

[Dougster]

This has always been one of my favorites. I was SO LUCKY to be able to see Janis do this on guitar when I played Roadie and Merch Man in Cerritos, CA. Seeing her do it was thrilling for me... but to be able to watch from the wings...I will NEVER forget that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

[hoops]

Marcia, if janis plays it PLEASE get it on tape for me~! if that is allowed of course
peace
hoops

[Marcia Drummergal]

Marcia, if janis plays it PLEASE get it on tape for me~! if that is allowed of course
peace
hoops

It IS allowed. I need to buy some extra mini-dv tapes for my video camera...I also need to find my tripod!!

Marcia :)

[CharlieD]

I never understood the altered lyrics for "All Roads to the River" as done by John Mellencamp. The original was such a striking description of the contrasts and opposites that can occur within one person: "I am master and slave/I am sunlight and shadow". This is changed to "They are master and slaves/we are sunlight and shadow", which entirely obliterates the sense of the original. It's not remotely clear what this 'improvement' adds to the song, except unnecessary and rather pretentious obfuscation.

Any thoughts?

I also believe that Cher's version of Stars was an abridgement of some kind, but I've never heard it.

[Kathleen Brogan]

Cher's is actually pretty close to Janis' original . Barbara Cook's version doesn't include the first line...moves right into "Stars, they come and go".....
Mellencamp added a whole new verse at the end on ..."to the river". I'm not certain if Janis wrote the lyrics or not, but they're not on her version at all.

[Roady]

Cher singing Stars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSEloSBtLdk) I think she does it best- second to Janis of course.

Too bad it's not a video of Cher singing Stars live. That would be a thrill!

[hoops]

Cher is good
peace
hoops

[lucille]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzrnptm24rg&feature=related

[TiminOhio]

It was dark, I was driving home from the movies....saw It's Complicated with Meryl Streep, and a little rain was falling so I popped in my Night Rains Cd and wow Here comes the Night ...then Day by Day.
By the way my CD indicates that Here Comes The Night is the theme from "The Bell Jar". Anyone familiar with that?
TiminOhio

[Kathleen Brogan]

It's a biographic movie about Sylvia Plath. She wrote a book by the same name. She commited suicide in 1963. Janis' song is in the ending credits, and if memory serves, it's exactly the same as the "Night Rains" take. I'd have to search my videos to be sure. Read more.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath

[hoops]

Kathleen, i believe it is the exact same song from the movie as on the album because Janis was bummed that they made her cut like three minutes off of it. I'm trying to find a copy of this film, i've heard it's much better than it's more recent release. netflix, who has everything, doesn't even have it....any ideas?
peace
hoops

[Kathleen Brogan]

I have the commercial movie on video tape. It was never released on DVD.

[Kathleen Brogan]

OOOPPPPS, guess I was wrong!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=bell+jar

[hoops]

Kathleen, thanks so much!
peace
hoops

[Kathleen Brogan]

Yikes, from the reviews, the DVD seems to be pretty bad quality! I think I'll stick to my tape!

[Roady]

Didn't find a link to the movie that wasn't suspicious. You Tube has the BBC movie Sylvia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpvEwrXYLGI&feature=PlayList&p=296C76BC87FA00AB&index=0&playnext=1) that received better reviews (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/12/03/sylvia_review.shtml) than the Bell Jar, if you're interested in Sylvia Plath's life. Of course without Janis' song it might be anticlimatic. :(

[saxman]

all this talk has me listening to all my vintage LPs Thanks for everyones responces

[Jim in Chattanooga, TN]

I always thought the book ("The Bell Jar") was better than the movie, but you can't hear "Here Comes The Night" unless you see the film.

[David_Gardiner]

As a matter of interest, there's a re-make of The Bell Jar entering production this year: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844467/ I don't know whether they intend to use Here Comes the Night again.

[Larkhall Linda]

Hoops I hear ya.
I'be not been fortunate to see Janis in concert yet.(living in south America makes it almost impossible for me to attend).
I missed the concerts in Texas by 2 days, that's the closest I came,
I have always wanted to hear the guitar version, because if I remember well, Janis was not completely satisfied with the version on Restless Eyes.
I however think that the album is one of her best and have always wondered how that song could be improved upon. (Guess I have to take Janis' word :) )

Jay I know how you feel, I have only managed to see her once In Manchester England, I can't express just how wonderful it was! I nearly saw her a few years earlier ( I think it was the last tour she made with a band) but I had only just started working and had no money! I can still remember going past the poster each morning on the bus and wanting to cry.

[JoanM]

Linda, if I haven't already welcomed you to the board, welcome. Kick your shoes off, relax your mind.

We all long to hear Janis in concert, even after we've just attended one, we're checking out the schedule and saving for the next trip. When trips to concerts just aren't in the cards, there are videos of concerts available. If you don't have any, you can start with the most recent, Live from Grand Center, 2008. Live at Club Cafe, while more expensive, will show you another concert with more Janis and different songs. You can also search YouTube and find a lot of clips from concerts.

Again, welcome, jm