Ian still cool after 17 albums

You may have heard about Janis Ian from your parents. She put out her first chart-topping single, "Society's Child" in 1966 when she was 15. Since then, Ian has released 17 albums. But forget what you have heard about Ian or any qualms you may have about listening to music from your parent's decade. Ian's 2000 release, God & the FBI, needs no previous qualifiers for new listeners. \nOverall, the album is filled with extreme hits and bare misses. When she's good, she's great, but where her songs falter, they do it throughout the entire track. \nThe heart-catcher on the album is "Memphis," penned by Ian and Deana Carter with vocals by Ian and Willie Nelson. Ian could have pulled off this track beautifully without guest help, but Nelson and Carter add extra flavor that showcases a tune that should rise above one artist's goals. It's the tearful ballad of Memphis, her beauty and her heartache. Chances are it will make you catch your breath and want to take a brief road trip to Tennessee on a rainy day to check it out. The song is that good. \nThe tune also detours from many of the other tracks on an album full of layers and texture. It is a simple acoustic guitar and piano ballad among songs with multiple vocal and percussive overlays. But when fitting, the textures on other songs are just as valuable as "Memphis's" simplicity. Take "Jolene" -- layered vocals create the percussive feel of the tune about a girl who is "walking to the beat of the street," giving the song a busy-street type feel. \nDetractors on the album come when Ian overdoes the layers, diverting what should be a listener's channeled attention to many different directions. (This overdone tactic only works once, on "Murdering Stravinsky," where the song has a confusing-in-a-good-way feel). \nOther interesting tracks that deserve mention include "Play Like a Girl," where Ian gives deserved credit to herself as a "girl" rocker, and "Boots Like Emmy Lou's." It starts out with a player-piano intro and swings right into a country/blues infected rocker that pays tribute to Lou and other classic country greats with humor and fun. If you have any appreciation for a musician's influences, don't miss this track. \nGod & the FBI has more hits than misses. Ian is a very talented songwriter who delves into interesting subject matter that makes her music unique. Check her out.