Music Banter - Good Bad Or Indifferent Janis Joplin

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Good Bad Or Indifferent Janis Joplin

She had a unique voice to say the least and her delivery of the way she phrased the lyrics she sung was also quite different to any other singer that we had heard prior to Janis, or after for that matter so on the grand scale of singers where did she rank? Personally I think she was one of a kind who most people did not understand from a musical stand point.

I though she was amazing. Maybe a little too much of the same thing from time to time, but an incredible energy when it worked. Ball and Chain from the Monterrey Pop Fest blows my mind.

Indifferent. I think she had a great voice but not someone I've ever been all that interested in exploring beyond the singles.

I haven't heard much from Janis. While her voice was powerful and made quite a stand for female rockstars, I find her hard to listen to sometimes. So I'll go with indifferent.

I always thought her best stuff was with Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Indifferent/Good.

Her album "Pearl" is good, but most of her stuff tends to sound the same. The voice? I like it, but when it comes to female singers with that kind of voice I go with Etta James every day of the week.

This is a review I wrote for Amazon.com in 2005 of Cheap Thrills, by Big Brother & the Holding Company:

Quote:

Dying young may be a good career move for a rock star, but it precludes any possibility of cashing in on that one last comeback tour. Janis Joplin became an icon and celebrated public figure in August of 1968, immediately after this album, Cheap Thrills was released and was dead two short years later. She didn't even live long enough to pay off advances from Columbia Records against future royalties. In the long run, Columbia Records was the primary beneficiary of Janis Joplin's premature death. Her record label has made a fortune from repackaging her catalog as deluxe boxed sets and anthologies over the years. It's ironic because no deluxe Columbia product has distilled the pure undiluted essence of Janis as much as this humble debut album.

For all its ragged glory, Cheap Thrills endures as the best showcase of Janis Joplin's extraordinary singing talent. Among the songs are the chart topping R&B classic "Piece of my Heart", the funky rhythm driven "Combination of the Two", a raw and soulful recasting Gershwin jazz classic "Summertime" and Janis' signature tune the show stopping "Ball and Chain."

A number of music critics took aim at Big Brother's musicianship and criticized the band as unprofessional and not up to par with Janis' talents. Janis, being young and riddled with insecurities, was wounded by the barbs. She left the band four months after the release Cheap Thrills. Her solo career never really happened.

It's a shame, because Big Brother's ramshackle and reckless playing was uniquely attuned to the explosive dynamics of Joplin's "take-no-prisoners" approach to blues singing. She never found another group of musicians she bonded with like Big Brother. Her last album "Pearl" is technically better than Cheap Thrills, but musical virtuosity is over-rated. Ask any hardcore fan of Janis and they will tell you that Cheap Thrills is the first CD they'll grab when their house is burning down.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about Janis Joplin. She had a remarkable voice but she died before she reached her full creative potential.

Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison left behind a legacy of several brilliant albums before they died but Janis Joplin's body of work is surprisingly thin by comparison.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin B. (Post 1355141)

This is a review I wrote for Amazon.com in 2005 of Cheap Thrills, by Big Brother & the Holding Company:

That pretty much sums up my feelings about Janis Joplin. She had a remarkable voice but she died before she reached her full creative potential.

Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison left behind a legacy of several brilliant albums before they died but Janis Joplin's body of work is surprisingly thin by comparison.

well said

I respect Janis mightily. I don't and have never owned any, but she was an amazing talent and important in the evolution of rock music.