Cheap Thrills, the major-label debut of Janis Joplin, was one of the most eagerly anticipated, and one of the most successful, albums of 1968. Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company had earned extensive press notice ever since they played the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. it shot into the charts, reaching number one and going gold within a couple of months, and "Piece of My Heart" became a Top 40 hit and helped to propel the LP to over a million sales. Joplin, with her ear- (and vocal cord-) shredding voice, was the obvious standout. Nobody had ever heard singing as emotional, as desperate, as determined, or as loud as Joplin's, and Cheap Thrills was her greatest moment. Neither she nor the band would ever equal it. Heard today, Cheap Thrills is a musical time capsule and remains a showcase for one of rock's most distinctive singers.
Showing posts with label Big Brother and the Holding Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Brother and the Holding Company. Show all posts
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cheap Thrills
Cheap Thrills, the major-label debut of Janis Joplin, was one of the most eagerly anticipated, and one of the most successful, albums of 1968. Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company had earned extensive press notice ever since they played the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. it shot into the charts, reaching number one and going gold within a couple of months, and "Piece of My Heart" became a Top 40 hit and helped to propel the LP to over a million sales. Joplin, with her ear- (and vocal cord-) shredding voice, was the obvious standout. Nobody had ever heard singing as emotional, as desperate, as determined, or as loud as Joplin's, and Cheap Thrills was her greatest moment. Neither she nor the band would ever equal it. Heard today, Cheap Thrills is a musical time capsule and remains a showcase for one of rock's most distinctive singers.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Big Brother and the Holding Company
The debut, self-titled album from Big Brother and the Holding Company is an evolving paradigm. Unfortunately for Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company, the respectable performances and all of the material on this disc are undercut by a weak production that sounds rushed. The album does contain interesting studies of future classics. It was the lack of product from superstar Janis Joplin which kept putting an emphasis on this release with little else available to satisfy rabid fans who couldn't get enough of Janis.
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