God and the FBI, provisionally titled In Dog Years I'm Dead,[4] is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, originally released in 2000 by Windham Hill Records. The album's ultimate title, and the theme of its opening title song, dates from a decade before its release when Ian requested that the FBI files of her parents, who were passionate black civil rights activists, be released to her.[5]
God and the FBI | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 21, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Studio | Dominion Theatre, London, England Pedernales Studio, Pedernales Texas Sound Emporium, Nashville, Tennessee Barbara Derwin's house | |||
Genre | Contemporary singer-songwriter | |||
Length | 46:00 | |||
Label | Windham Hill | |||
Producer | John Jennings, Janis Ian, Jim Cregan | |||
Janis Ian chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wilson and Allroy | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Tennessean | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
At the time of God and the FBI's making, Ian thought this would be her final album because of poor record sales since her return to recording in the middle 1990s,[4] and her realisation that she could not survive upon playing benefit concerts for causes like Zero Population Growth.[6]
Consequently, Ian abandoned the commercial pretensions of previous releases, doing a large portion of the sessions in-house rather than in a studio, and doing ten songs with a single band. Ian did, however, return to working with co-producer John Jennings, who had produced her 1995 album Revenge, whilst one song, "Memphis" was a duet with Willie Nelson and featured a lead guitar by Chet Atkins.
All tracks are written by Janis Ian, unless otherwise noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "God and the FBI" | 4:10 | |
2. | "On the Other Side" | 4:26 | |
3. | "Memphis" | Deana Carter, Janis Ian | 5:13 |
4. | "Jolene" | Janis Ian, Jess Leary | 4:06 |
5. | "When You Love Someone" | 4:07 | |
6. | "Play Like a Girl" | 3:38 | |
7. | "Days Like These" | 3:25 | |
8. | "Boots Like Emmy Lou's" | 3:53 | |
9. | "She Must Be Beautiful" | Kye Fleming, Janis Ian | 4:42 |
10. | "The Last Comeback" | Philip Clark, Janis Ian | 4:49 |
11. | "Murdering Stravinsky" | Philip Clark, Janis Ian | 3:31 |
Total length: | 46:00 |
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Studio albums |
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Singles | |
Live albums |
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