Her (in my opinion) failures confirmed this. She was a rock singer with a rock band, not a “vocalist” in the conventional, independent sense. A hard act to follow, an even harder one to change from. The music she made with Big Brother (documented on Cheap Thrills) was so full-bodied and complete, had such a distinctive stamp, that it became in a listener’s mind an end, rather than a beginning. Janis’ career was complicated by its skyrocketing character. It’s Janis, or it’s Monk, and you listen, and you care, because you know that whatever is going down is genuine and may contain a revelation, and possibility that may be written off in the case of lesser artists. Would you rather listen to bad Monk or good Ramsey Lewis? Or, if Monk could ever be called bad, could Lewis ever be called good? In certain instances, “good” and “bad” can be pretty useless terms. Anyone who exhibits qualities of greatness earns certain privileges - not critical immunity so much as the right to be forever removed from inconsequentiality: all their work, flawed or not, is worth experiencing. She was a remarkable, if erratic, singer, and she proved it, live and on record. Besides, Janis was a heavy, and had incredible presence whether at the top or bottom of her form. The fact that there will be no more studio albums inevitably outweighs the issue of how good or how bad the record might be. Her last album can’t simply be an occasion for evaluation. I suspect that some of the tracks are not in their final shape, but these are not scraps, and there is every indication that Janis was working toward a new maturity and confidence. The voice cut off was clearly in its prime. Fortunately, Pearl is a good record and Janis is often magnificent. "Big Brother & the Holding Company Featuring Janis Joplin". ^ "Big Brother & The Holding Company – Big Brother & The Holding Company". " Big Brother & the Holding Company Featuring Janis Joplin - Big Brother & the Holding Company Featuring Janis Joplin". The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World. Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin. A Gathering of Promises: The Battle for Texas's Psychedelic Music. Track listing 1967 Mainstream Records release In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Joe Viglione feels the production by Bob Shad is weak, though the material and the performances are respectable. The album was a minor success, peaking at number 60 and almost producing a Top 40 hit with the song " Down on Me". The album has been reissued in various formats several times since 1967. When Columbia took over the band's contract and re-released the album, they included "Coo Coo" and "The Last Time", and put "featuring Janis Joplin" on the cover. Two tracks, "Coo Coo" and "The Last Time", were released separately as a single, while the tracks from the previous single, "Blindman" and "All Is Loneliness", were added to the remaining eight tracks. The album was released by Mainstream Records in August 1967, shortly after the band's major success at the Monterey Pop Festival. Release and reception Professional ratings Review scores After playing at a "happening" at Stanford in early December 1966, the band traveled to Los Angeles to record 10 tracks between 12 and 14 December 1966, produced by Bob Shad. The band recorded the tracks "Blindman" and "All Is Loneliness" in Los Angeles, and these were released by Mainstream as a single, which did not sell well. Initial recordings took place in Chicago in September 1966, but these were not satisfactory, and the band returned to San Francisco. The band signed to Bob Shad's local record label Mainstream Records while stranded in Chicago after a promoter ran out of money when their concerts did not attract the expected attendance. Several tracks on the album were released as singles, the most successful being " Down on Me" on its second release, in 1968. Columbia took over the band's contract and re-released the album, adding two extra tracks, and putting Joplin's name on the cover. Recorded during three days in December 1966 for Mainstream Records, it was released in the summer of 1967, shortly after the band's major success at the Monterey Pop Festival. Big Brother and the Holding Company chronologyīig Brother & the Holding Company is the debut album of Big Brother and the Holding Company, with Janis Joplin, their main singer.
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