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Rip It Up, Issue 6, 1 November 1977, Page 6

Ray Castle

Four foot ten inch, Janis lan, sits crosslegged in Oriental slacks, in an Intercontinental armchair, sipping fruit juice punching back decisive answers to a drilling of lens and tape.

This 25 year old, child prodigy is known here mostly for her emotional portrait, "At Seventeen", but in America has had the same songwriting acclaim as Mitchell and Jackson Browne. She has received a Grammy for the "Between The Lines" album and a best female vocalist award.

"I have fulfilled my desire to be a star being a star right now mainly means I get hassled during dinner. On tour I just do my job."

Success, over the last three years, means: "I've been doing what I want, anti how I want to do it, with people who I enjoy doing it with." After she catapulted into the spotlight in 1965 with "Society's Child", the precocious songwriter became bewildered with the arena of acid rock she had been thrust into. She introverted into selfexile for a long spell. "I couldn't cope. All child performers should have to go through it. It gets you back some kind of perspective on yourself." She has been touring for four years and a live album will soon be forthcoming. The cuts will come from her -ecent Christ-

church and Japanese concerts. Touring takes its toll. You become so insular and incestuous. On the last tour, out of twelve people on the road, ten of their old ladies or old men left them."

Perhaps this accounts for her premature, greying, afro, hair. "It is true that women don't end up to the same status as men in rock. It's a problem! I don't know how much of it is a cultural backlash or because women haven't been writing and performing as long, in the same sense as men.

"Joni Mitchell has come the closest, as a status writer but she is still a chick, a chick who plays guitar." It is no big deal to lan playing electric guitar on stage. She maintains one vision "to be a great writer, any kind of writing. I write songs now. that is the craft that I have trained in. But you are limited, all you can write about is sex, love and living." Then in another tone, this cross examining lady of means will say, "I'm a terrible writer, I’m embarrassed to be a writer."

Yearnings are: "To write music without words, and words without music. I would like to fall in love and have somebody fall in love with me; if you think about it too much, you realise it isnot happening."