Stars (Janis Ian album)

Stars is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and the first of her seven for Columbia Records. Ian had previously had a three-year hiatus from the music industry since her 1971 album Present Company. In two years away from the music business, Ian wrote over 100 songs after moving to Los Angeles.^[4] She returned to play at the Philadelphia Folk Festival on August 17, 1973,^[5] and was signed by Columbia Records after several other companies rejected the songs she had written.^[6]

Stars
Studio album by Janis Ian
Released	February 1974
Recorded	March 1972 – 1973
Studio	914 Sound Studios Sound Recorders, Los Angeles Sound Studios, New York State
Genre	Folk
Length	35:31
Label	Columbia
Producer	Brooks Arthur
Janis Ian chronology
Present Company (1971) Stars (1974) Between the Lines (1975)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Wilson and Allroy	[2]
Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992)	[3]

While Stars was being recorded, the song "Jesse" became a hit for Roberta Flack.^[7]

The album itself became Ian's most successful since her debut, peaking at number 63 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Janis Ian.

One Side

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Stars"	7:12
2.	"The Man You Are in Me"	2:59
3.	"Sweet Sympathy"	2:42
4.	"Page Nine"	3:07
5.	"Thankyous"	2:40
Total length:		17:40

Another Side

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dance with Me"	3:18
2.	"Without You"	2:04
3.	"Jesse"	4:07
4.	"You’ve Got Me on a String"	3:20
5.	"Applause"	4:02
Total length:		16:51

Personnel

• Produced by Brooks Arthur
• Engineered by Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, Charlie Dreyer
• Art Direction and Design: John Berg, Paul Perlow
• Photography: Peter Cunningham
• Production Coordinator: Herb Gart

Musicians

• Janis Ian – vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes
• Larry Alexander – drums, tambourine
• Raymond Beckenstein – soprano saxophone
• Ralph Casale – acoustic guitar
• Richard Davis – arranger, bass, pizzicato bass
• George Devens – vibraphone
• Sal DiTroia – acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• George Duvivier – bass
• Jack Jennings – percussion
• Barry Lazarowitz – arranger, drums, percussion
• Gene Orloff – violin
• Hugh McCracken – electric guitar
• Don Payne – bass
• Romeo Penque – saxophone
• Al Rogers – drums
• Allan Schwartzberg – drums
• John Tropea – acoustic guitar
• Eric Weissberg – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar

Orchestra

• Bob Abernathy – French horn
• Seymour Barab – celli
• Seymour Berman – viola
• Phil Bodner – alto flute, alto saxophone
• Ariana Bronne – violin
• Alfred Brown – viola
• James Buffington – French horn
• Frederick Buldrini – violin
• Don Butterfield – tuba
• Earl Chapin – French horn
• Selwart Clarke – viola
• Léon Cohen – clarinet
• Burt Collins – trumpet
• Joseph DeAngelis – French horn
• Peter Dimitriades – violin
• Paul Faulise – bass trombone
• Ron Frangipane – arranger, conductor, piano
• Mickey Gravine – tenor trombone
• Marie Hence – violin
• Wally Kane – bassoon
• Artie Kaplan – orchestra manager
• Harold Kohon – violin
• Bhen Lanzarone – celesta
• Gloria Lanzarone – celli
• Archie Levin – viola
• Joseph Malin – violin
• Richard Maximoff – viola
• Charles McCracken – celli
• Lloyd Michaels – trumpet
• Romeo Pengue – clarinet, flute, oboe
• Alan Raph – baritone horn
• George Ricci – celli, cello soloist
• Alan Rubin – trumpet
• David Sackson – viola
• Julius Schacter – violin
• Joe Shepley – solo trumpet
• Joseph J. Shepley – French horn
• Bill Watrous – tenor trombone

Charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[8]	63
Australian (Kent Music Report)[9]	82