A Janis Ian dance album? Even her most ardent fans couldn't have seen this one coming.
Uncle Wonderful -- an Australia-only album from 1984 that was recorded over three years -- sounds like something from Flashdance or Footloose, and as such it's dated rather badly.
Drum machines, synthesizers, and Ian's incongruous grand piano all vie for attention, and the effect is not unlike being caught in a noisy traffic jam for 30-plus minutes.
Still, there's some amusement to be gained from hearing Ian sing uncharacteristically coquettish lines like "let me be your body slave," and there's a great, hyperspeed piano solo on "Just a Girl." Ian's writing is as sharp and pointed as ever; Uncle Wonderful initially sounds like throwaway pop, but perseverance reveals that each song is actually a rather dark, well-constructed novella.
"Trigger Happy Love" tells the tale of a married prostitute-killer, "Mechanical Telephone" examines marital dissolution, and the title track addresses incest and abuse, themes Ian would return to with great success on her comeback album Breaking Silence.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just a GirlJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Uncle WonderfulJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Trigger Happy LoveJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Heart Skip Too Many BeatsJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Body SlaveJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Hit You with the GuiltKim Bullard, Janis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Sniper of the HeartJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | This NightJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Mechanical TelephoneJanis Ian | Janis Ian | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Why Can't You & I? | Janis Ian | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 40 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tina Abato | Design |
| 2 | Brooks Arthur | Producer |
| 3 | Cyro Baptista | Percussion |
| 4 | Jeff Berlin | Bass |
| 5 | Kim Bullard | Composer, Keyboards |
| 6 | Maria Carter | Make-Up |
| 7 | Leslie Collman-Smith | Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Paulinho Da Costa | Percussion |
| 9 | Kal David | Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Howard "Buzz" Feiten | Guitar (Electric) |
| 11 | Artie Funaro | Guitar (Electric), Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Stuart Furusho | Assistant Engineer |
| 13 | Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| 14 | Tony Horowitz | Bass |
| 15 | Janis Ian | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Terry Jennings | Drum Machine, Engineer, Percussion |
| 17 | Marv Kanarek | Drums |
| 18 | Bob Merritt | Engineer |
| 19 | Paul Mitchell | Assistant Engineer |
| 20 | Tom Murphy | Engineer |
| 21 | Chris Page | Keyboards |
| 22 | Randee Saint Nicholas | Original Photography |
| 23 | Peter Schless | Keyboards |
| 24 | Bill Schnee | Mixing |
| 25 | Rick Shlosser | Drums |
| 26 | Leland Sklar | Bass |
| 27 | Joe Turano | Vocals (Background) |
| 28 | Jimmy Wachtel | Art Direction |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
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