Janis Ian Breaking Silence

Now Available on 180g Vinyl!
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings!
Mastered by Doug Sax!
Michael Fremer's 100 Recommended All-Analog LP Reissues Worth Owning - Rated 82/100!
TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal
The American singer-songwriter Janis Ian celebrated her greatest successes in the 1960s and 1970s, for her number 1 hit At Seventeen she was awarded a Grammy in 1976. In 1992 her last album was a good ten years old, she was deep in debt and had the impression that she only had one last chance to ever make a recording again. Ian wrote a number of controversial songs about issues that were important to her. And produced an all-analog, impeccable recording that is still used by many hi-fi manufacturers to demonstrate their devices.
This album finds Janis' voice in its purest, most vital form ever. The tracks were recorded as live as possible without sounding retro. This 1992 all-analogue recording, praised as much for the artist's too infrequently heard talents, as for its recorded dynamics, is now available on the medium that is a natural: 180-gram vinyl! The audiophile LP version reflects what the two top bibles of high-end audio decree as an impeccable production that has come to be regarded as a high-fidelity reference. Matched with Ian's very personal songs, delivered in a voice that draws you in close in confidence. Breaking Silence is one of the very few recordings of recent years that by reproducing a pure analogue sound, has attained true audiophile status.
Tracks were recorded at Nightingale Studio on a Studer 820, 24-track machine, 30 IPS, non-dolby, at the elevation of +6/250 nu using Ampex 499 tape.
Included among the mics used on the recording dates were: Nuemann M-49, AKG C-12, Telefunken 251, Sheffield C-9 and a custom built tube direct box on the bass. Janis' vocal was recorded using a Telefunken U-47 and a Mastering Lab mic preamp, linked with series-one Monster Cable direct to the back of the multi-track machine with no EQ or Limiting.
The album was mixed at Bill Schnee Studio to an Ampex ATR 1/2" machine, at 30 IPS, non-dolby, at the elevation of +3/250 nu on Ampex 499 tape. The reverb on the album was an EMT tube plate used along with natural room sounds captured in the recording. During the mixing of the album, "Some People's Lives" was recorded direct to two-track using the same vocal chain as above and Telefunken 251's on the piano. Take # 2 was used as the album cut. The album was mixed using Mastering Lab modified Tannoy SGM-10's powered by Sherwood-Sax mono-block tube amps.
The remastering for Analogue Productions makes Ian's ingratiating voice sound even more vital. The captured dynamics and the excellent performance are a real pleasure for music lovers. For the recording at the Californian Nightingale Studios a 16-track tape machine (Studer 820) was used in combination with Ampex 499 tape, Ian sang into a Telefunken U-47, amplified by a preamplifier from Mastering Lab. The signal was output to the tape machine without EQ or limiting. With Breaking Silence, the American received her seventh Grammy nomination.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Jeff Balding. Mastered by Doug Sax.

Features:

• 180g Vinyl
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings
• Tip-On Gatefold Jacket
• Mastered by Doug Sax

Musicians:

• Jim Brock, drums, percussion
• Janis Ian, acoustic guitar, piano, vocals
• Chad Watson, bass, slide bass
• Dan Huff, electric guitar
• Jim Hoke, solo harmonics

Selections:

Side A
1. All Roads To The River
2. Ride Me Like A Wave
3. Tattoo
4. Guess You Had To Be There
5. What About The Love
6. His Hands
Side B
1. Walking On Sacred Ground
2. This Train Still Runs
3. Through The Years
4. This House
5. Some People's Lives (recorded live to two-track)
6. Breaking Silence