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Janis Joplin


Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Blues-based rock

Status:

Final release, Pearl, appeared in 1971, shortly after her death in 1970

See also:

Wikipedia's entry on Janis Joplin

The Ectophiles' Guide's entry for her previous band, Big Brother and The Holding Company

Comparisons:

Unique. She is the standard others now are compared to. She herself learned a lot from early blue singers like Bessie Smith.

Covers/own material:

Own, covers, traditional Americana

General comments:

Janis Joplin's voice and technique is quite unique; she can rip a song apart in one moment, and then sing it ever so softly and gently the next moment. Not a pretty voice, but extremely expressive. One of her bands was called "Full Tilt Boogie Band" which is a quite accurate description of her music.... (brage@delta.dk)

A huge influence on many artists mostly cause of her stage persona. (onealien@mo.himolde.no)

Recommended first album:

Pearl or In Concert or perhaps one of the various greatest hits compilations

Recordings include:

  • I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969)
  • Pearl (1971)
  • In Concert (live, 1972)
  • Pearl Sessions (2CD, 2012)

Pearl

Release info:

1971—Columbia—CDCBS 64188

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Very high

Group members:

Janis Joplin—vocals

Guest artists:

Phil Badella—backing vocals
Richard Bell—piano, backing vocals
Brad Campbell—bass, backing vocals
John Cooke—backing vocals
Sandra Crouch—tambourine, backing vocals
Bobbie Hall—conga, bongos, backing vocals
Vince Mitchell—backing vocals
Pearl—acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Ken Pearson—organ, backing vocals
Clark Pierson—drums, backing vocals
John Till—guitar, backing vocals
Bobby Womack—acoustic guitar, backing vocals

Produced by:

Paul Rothchild

Comments:

Nice consistent album, but not quite as powerful as the live recordings on In Concert. (brage@delta.dk)

In Concert

Release info:

1972—Columbia—466838 2

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Very high

Group members:

Janis Joplin—vocals

Guest artists:

Peter Albin—bass
Sam Andrew—guitar
Richard Bel—piano
Brad Campbell—bass
Dave Getz—drums
James Gurley—guitar
Ken Pearson—organ
Clark Pierson—drums
John Till—guitar

Produced by:

Elliot Mazer

Comments:

Sound quality isn't the best (it's a live album, after all), but the album contains lots of great songs and Janis Joplin really gets to show off her talent. You'll never recognize "Summertime"! (brage@delta.dk);-)


Thanks to Jens P. Tagore Brage for work on this entry.

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Entry last updated 2012-08-29 13:42:11.
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