Janis Joplin

Janis herself has never sounded better on record, but it took me four full listenings to the
LP before I could hear her. That's how bad her band is. When (and if) you get hold of this
record, my suggestion is that you listen really hard to how awful the backup is --
everything from the arrangements to the level of musicianship. Those sons of bitches can't
do anything really right. The only answer is to get super-familiar with what they'... More >

Everyone who called Janis Joplin a great blues singer was wrong. She was, and is, a great rock singer. She needed Big Brother more than any of us knew, not just for image, but musically, and not as a complement but a parallel--their crudeness defined her own. Janis has been struggling to shake off that crudeness, and while this record doesn't quite do what she has in the past for most of us, it is a surprisingly strong try, with a lot of help from producer Gabriel Mekler. Anyone who has given up on Janis along the way ought to try again. She's coming on. (Grade: A-)