Cheap Thrills

When the Album art has R. Crumb doodles you know it's gonna be a *freak out* All of a sudden, it's 1968. Vietnam. Nixon. Motown. Psychedelia. And screaming atop that Mountain is Janis Joplin. Such voice, such energy. I like to imagine Janis at the Crossroads with Robert Johnson, selling her very soul for her voice. That growl, that twang. It's unmistakable and irresistible. Especially on my new favourite version of "Summertime". The guitar tone is fuzzy and the temp is funky and soulful. There's solos, call and response. The piped in crowd noise before each track adds a wonderful electricity to each. These are the hymns of the counterculture, sung by their troubled high priestess and burned into our collective memory of the late 60s. Take a piece of my Heart, Janis. Just take it.

Janis Joplin kills it in the vocals, strong blues roots, great guitar

Let's fucking party! Lo-fi and wild, and Janis sounds amazing. Great fun all round.

This was made for me. I loved this. Also I kept thinking of 30 rock when Jenna has the fake Joplin doc.

Cracker. Surprise Janis Joplin gem.

OKAY JANIS

Incredible album, I love it. Janis Joplin is timeless.

The vocals were grating, like Robert Plant scraping a dying budgie down a blackboard.

Honestly, I had no idea that Janis Joplin fronted a band until this album came up. I always thought she was a solo act only. I also found out today that Congress has several subway trains connecting their buildings. So not to brag, but I learned two things today! Janis has a voice that shouldn’t work, but is just right for theses songs. It’s gravelly. It sort of sounds like what happens the day after a night of drinking and screaming too many songs. It sounds like the after effect of smoking too many cigarettes. Maybe she drunkenly screamed too many songs while smoking gravel cigarettes. Nothing would surprise me here. The guitar distortion during the first minute of Ball And Chain reminds me of her voice. Maybe she has a distortion pedal in her throat. The point is Janis’s voice is perfectly imperfect. I like the songs on this album, I don’t love them. There is a bit too much jamming for my taste that’s better saved for the live show.

Not a big Janis Joplin fan. There are some things I can appreciate - Piece of My Heart is a classic and deservedly so, but in a lot of cases her voice grates on me. For example, her rendition of Summertime is supposed to be a classic but I couldn't stand her voice on it and even the fuzz guitar was annoying me. I liked a bit of the first track, "Combination of the Two" - it was half good sixties heavy rock and half hippy time. "I Need a Man to Love" had some good funk going on, but it also made me feel that this album is very much of its time. The best albums are timeless. I found Joplin's voice grating again on Ball and Chain, which is a shame because I really like Big Mama Thornton (her original version of Hound Dog blows away Elvis). Not sure if a link will work, but here's how Ball and Chain SHOULD sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdUjHmCHA4 ...take it away Big Mama. Have to call this album a 2, unfortunately.

A classic. Raw, powerful, soulful. And that voice.

Dripping in acid haze and California heat wave, so damn cool and confident

The cover art could’ve been beautiful but instead it’s just straight up racist. I know the maker of it was a satirist, but I’m not sure that compensates for that. The music is great though. Janis Joplin has an amazing and unique voice which in my opinion reflects a lot of emotion.

Janis Joplin’s vocal cords might have mothered Axl Rose’s. Years ago, during my loud "never trust a hippy" phase my dad, not a man in whom I've noted more than an atom of hippy, told me that actually, they did some great stuff, and I shouldn't be so dogmatic. Without disaggregating the whole bursting of restrictive social norms and segregation that they contributed, I'll tip my hat to my dad for the necessary corrective. The sort of disorganised, bold and restless spirit I associate with the movement is present in this record. This list has resurrected my fondness for messy '60's blue-rock recordings, off-the-cuff albums with a bunch of covers thrown in to make up the numbers, production carefree and murky, audience sounds dubbed in, echoes thrown into odd places, and a sense of wanting to capture a moment before moving on, who cares if it isn't perfect, the next one will be better, though the next one often never came. The bass sometimes is off hidden in some corner of a club, stoned and noisily planning some sort of revolutionary arts happening to a bunch of comrades, probably outnumbered by FBI spies, the guitar sometimes is just inappropriately blitzed out in a way that you'd never hear on a contemporary record, they've raided the party, swept the canapés into a bin bag, and have blazed off down the canyon. Anyway, pretty good. Now I'd probably add a star to each of those Doors albums that were thrown at us early in the run.

Good would listen again

Incredible album, I love it. Janis Joplin is timeless.

Brilliant album. Nice bit of Janis screeching away!

I’d never listened to this. Amazing

Is Janis Joplin the greatest singer of all time? No, but damn if she isn’t great

This is a gem! I'm slightly embarrassed to have never even heard of the band or album before, but grateful for the tip, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pure class.

Loved it.

This was simply great! The vocals, the guitar, the drums, the bass, the whole band, the album cover. Even not liking too much the "live" inserts in the middle of the songs, this still is a great piece of modern music. Enough said!

The arguable peak of blues rock, Janis Joplin’s voice is absolutely vibrant and aggressive. You can almost smell the late 60s on this record. 👍

Amazing record, those live track are huge and this is the record that has Sumertimw in it. As great of a record as Pearl

Enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Hello, it’s me, the broken record. Just wanted to stop by and remind you that literally every band in the late 60’s San Francisco psych scene were better songwriters, better musicians and more engaging performers than the Grateful Dead. Why you would listen to the Dead when Big Brother and The Holding Company could harness more focused intensity in the first 45 seconds of this record than the Dead were capable of in their entire career? I am not one for conspiracies, usually, but I do believe that when MK Ultra shuttered, the CIA allowed the Dead to traverse the US giving out LSD as a means to further study the effects of the drug on the population. They may not have been involved directly, but i can't imagine that they weren't watching the results intently. Think about it, they no longer had to worry about the risks of CIA involvement in dosing civilians when there was a band who was traveling town to town doing it for them…There's no way they weren't more than happy to let it go on unfettered. Anyway… On “Cheap Thrills”, Big Brother and the Holding Company are in fine form. The band is tight, with an excellent rhythm section, guitar leads that are fuzzy and frenetic and Janis Joplin at the top of her game. I highly recommend it.

Definitely has a raw, faux-live energy that is both fun but a little bit grating at the same time. Songs are solid though, and everything has a pretty loose and jammy feel to it. All the players here are great, but compared the Janis they are like candles to a torch, which really holds back the songs where she isn't in the spotlight. Overall a very fun time, and Janis is always a pleasure, and its flaws are many but minor.

J'ai profité d'une heure durant laquelle je devais surveiller une élève pendant qu'elle rédigeait son devoir de français pour écouter cet album. Bien que je l'aie globalement apprécié, deux moments ont bien failli gâcher son écoute. En plein milieu de l'album, l'élève en question eut l'impolitesse de me demander comment "langweilig" se disait dans ma langue. J'enlevai mes écouteurs et allai écrire le mot "ennuyeux" au tableau avant d'éclater la craie au sol d'un geste d'humeur et de me rasseoir. Enfin, alors que mon écoute en était à la dernière piste, si proche du but, l'élève crut bon de m'annoncer qu'elle avait terminé son devoir. J'entrai alors dans une colère noire. Les tables volèrent, les chaises voltigèrent, les fenêtres se fracassèrent... Une note de quatre sur cinq bien méritée en attendant de finir incessamment les trente secondes restantes.

Zeppelin couldn’t copy if they tried.

Big brother and the holding company if they didn’t have Janice Joplin: 💀📉😭

One from my Dad's record collection - I would gaze at the cover art but never got to playing the actual vinyl. So, good to get it here! Unfortunately pretty generic 60's blues/rock with some histrionics. Also features that weird 60's 'live but not really' anomaly. R Crumb remains the highlight

Blues is not usually my jam. I think this is the second time listening to this album; the first time through I was not grabbed at all...this time definitely moreso. Summertime is my personal favorite and the one two punch of that song and Piece of my Heart is worth the price of admission. Though I find the gutar on Ball and Chain heavy handed Janis' vocals are tour de force. And there are other incredible vocal performances. I'm giving it a 4 which after my first go through I would have never thought would happen. Maybe it will increase still on my next listen (hard to find to listen to anything but the next two on the list (yeah I'm doing 2 per day.

Engrossing listen, well-produced. Fake crowd noises are kind of a crutch but interesting. Classic late-60s heavy hippy stuff.

This is just good music, also helped me to find out janis joplin sounds like robert plant when she wants and can sing really well when she wants

This was a delightful, if unpolished, musical romp. I love Janis and I love her bluesy band but parts were uneven.

Janis is the best thing that has ever happened to Big Brother. an artist with an incredible voice and immense talent – she is the only thing I hear when listening to this album and it's more than enough

Incredibly strong album. The hooks are on point, Joplin kills it vocally, and there is no filler. Only complaint is that the band aren't as interesting as the vocalist.

Love that Jackie Jormp Jomp voice.

This album gets so much worse when someone besides Janis does vocals

Who let Marge Simpson join Jefferson Airplane?

Awesome album, I love Janis Joplin, what a singer. Favourite tracks: 'Summertime', 'Piece of My Heart', 'Turtle Blues' and 'Ball and Chain'. 5/5

An absolutely incredible album! Last Big Brother album with Janis Joplin on it and she leaves with a bang! She really gives everything she has in this album, her voice is just so recognizable and so different and raw all coming from so deep within. Truly one of the greatest singers to grace the microphone. Cannot believe this album isn’t a live album and only produced that way, gives it such a raw sound that steps the album up to a whole other level. Always have loved this album cover, incredible artwork. Great album with classic songs on it!

Amazing

Actually didn’t know that Janis Joplin was in this band before her solo career. This is a very solid album and I really enjoyed it Saved tracks: I Need a Man To Love, Piece Of My Heart, Oh Sweet Mary, Ball and Chain

Early Janis Joplin. Pretty amazing.

Sulla fiducia, da un primo ascolto senza cuffie. Da riascoltare

Heard this one before, food album.

Fuck yes. Was gonna hit 4 stars, then that first live track came in. Janis for prez

love dit album

OMG what is this voice?!

Very very good

There are some pretty incredible performances on here. Of course the star of the show is Janice Joplin. I am certain that rock music had never heard a voice of her range and emotional power. Her performance on Summertime, Piece of My Heart, Turtle Blues and Ball and Chain are seminal. Although i'm not typically a blues-rock lover this album is an exception and its all because of Janice. 5 stars

An absolute glorious mess. 1968 summed up in a record. Changing the world through music, messing up themselves with drugs, everything is possible and nothing is sacred. Joplin burning bright but too, too fast.

!

Really solid psychedelic and blues album. Really good.

Honestly, wasn't expecting this to be that good. Never heard a thing from Janis Joplin before, really only knew her from her image being painted on numerous hostels when backpacking Europe and news articles about The 27 Club. Must say she blew me away with those vocals. The instrumentation is also top notch and although not live according to Wikipedia, it feels right at home at a den or a cavern type theatre full of smoke and booze. Nice little variety too for blues which can be repetitive at times from experience. Got great solos, reliable rhythm section and some slow acoustics too. I guess the thing I find odd is that the songs themselves feel secondary to the performances. I didn't come away point at a particular song and say "This was the shit" or alternatively "Well that was shit". But if the performances were so good that you can view this record as an album, then who cares. Also the artwork, very creative and innovative instead of an image of the band or a model. Love how the comic style features images of each song along with the band members. Only bad thing about it is a couple of the images not aging well (*cough* Summertime *cough*).

harsh twangy gritty blues. soulful screeching and smoky backroom parlor vibes. note: the last 4 tracks are bonuses, hence the drop in quality

Yeah it's awesome

One of the best albums of all time. Amazing theme, great tracks, amazing artwork, its got it all. 5/5

leuk

In the Winter of 1993, I drove away from my university in Ohio and my girlfriend at the time with the mixtape she gave me playing in my car. I lost the tape a number of years ago, and I've forgotten the majority of the tracks that she put on the tape. I think about how much I liked the songs from time to time, and I keep a running list that I add to whenever I hear one of the missing tunes in a potentially vain attempt to recreate that piece of my past. Summertime just went back on the list. That was a sweet relationship, but I have to admit: I miss that tape more than I miss the girl. Nostalgia aside, Big Brother & Holding Company is a hell of good band. They just put it all out there. Then Janis' vocals explode all across the stage and blow me away. Huge and bold, raw emotion on display. God, I live for these kinds of performances. The uncompromising expression of those things you can't express any other way. It's just sublime. The piecemeal acquisition of the performances that compose this album just add to the charm. I love me a good live performance, and this whole album has all the vitality of the best live performances whether recorded in the studio or on stage.

From the jump “Combination of the Two” set fire to my speakers. Is that JANIS JOPLIN I hear?! (AND HOW!) How am I just now discovering this song? I listened to this barnburner over and over… The rest of the album consists of incredible songs performed by an incredible band with an incredible lead vocalist. Incredible!

Glorious abandon. Janis is fearless.

My first 5 star album of this challenge! Janis is obviously a legend. My favorite songs were Piece of My Heart and Turtle Blues

rnr

Absolutely an incredible experience. Presenting such a heavy bluesy album in the unpolished format of a live performance is a truly remarkable sound which emphasizes the nonstop assault this is. The type of album which makes you want to look up every detail about the artists. Janis Joplin deserves all the praise she gets. 9/10

Amazing, definitely listening again

I can't be the first person to have this realization but I think Robert Plant bases a lot of his vocal stylings on Janis Joplin? Just another thing Zep stole... This record is great! Imagine hearing these people live. They're really going for it.

I'm struggling to find words for how much I enjoyed this album. I really didn't expect much from it which is why I was caught off guard, I guess. I forgot that Janis Joplin used to front this band. Joplin was an absolute powerhouse of a presence, though. She was one of those singers who never holds back and just leaves everything on the stage. And the rest of the band ain't slouches either. Overall, an utterly riveting performance from top to bottom. Super great. Instant repeat. Saved to listen to later again and again.

This record has always felt a little disjointed to me, but it is undeniably an all-time classic.

Great album

Woah, Janice Joplin was in a band? I had no idea! Anyway, she's just unreachable

Almost Zep feel, heavy influence on later music. Why didn't I know more

Janis!

Soort van psychedelische bluesrock met een dijk van een zangeres. Heel goed album!

I almost wish I didn’t see the R Crumb album cover before listening to the album itself. The racial caricatures aren’t cool. Janis’s vocals are superb, a surprise to no one, and the band highlights her voice well. The guitars are fantastic, it’s the early days of the fuzz pedal and you just don’t hear tone like that anymore. You can feel that they’re pushing the boundaries of the music that’s currently available to them. I could do without the tanbura (or super sparse sitar?) on “Oh, Sweet Mary,” but I can’t fault them too much for wanting to experiment. Overall I’m super glad I listened to this, no complaints about the music.

Janis Joplin. What more needs to be said !

Janis at her finest

one of the best psychedelic rock albums of all time . 10/10

very good loved the vocals

Love this album - Janis Joplin is a Queen!

Janis showcase. She was so good.

This album slaps so hard, oh my god. The album cover, from R Crumb's hand, is super cool and a super creative way to present the band and songs. Apart from the... you know...

Buenísimo, te lleva a los inicios del rock & roll de los 70's

Jesus this vocals.

Screaming guitars Angela growling vocals. I loved this

It's a wonder I haven't heard this one early. With my recent enamoring with The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. These bands feel like future successors of Big Brother & The Holding Company. It's also easy to see how this band fit right into the counter culture movement and hippie scene in San Francisco. If this is Janis Joplin in her early and inexperienced, I can't wait to listen to more as she grew as a person and artist. Favorites: 'Summertime', 'Oh, Sweet Mary', and 'Piece of My Heart'

Excellent album. Though there is a clear sound (Joplin's singing voice is quite distinct) throughout there is enough variety and energy in each song that you'll find you skip barely any.

God damn, Janis was good. I never knew which of her hits were actually part of Big Brother and the Holding Company vs. solo. But there are some big time classics on this album. And you've got to love this album cover.

😳😳💌🫣

<3

Excelent!

This is another really good example of music that would be better produced, rather than live. I mean, the live performances are superb - genuinely remarkable - but the reliance on "first take" recording means that there's so much in here that could be made better. The drums, I don't think, were mic'd particularly well, so they sound rather clipped and tinny. The balance between Joplin's singing and the music is not great. I mean, this music is brilliant. Truly brilliant. But it would have been so very much better in a studio. Even a mediocre producer could have taken this from brilliant to world-changing.

This album is just rock and effing roll

Janis Joplin en directo. Espectacular.

wasnt expecting that

I haven’t participated in this as much as others but this is the first album that I actually really liked. The amount emotion in Joplins voice is palpable. It’s impossible to not be moved by it. She’s one of the best rock singers ever and this album exemplifies it.

Awesome album. Amazing voice. Amazing blues.

Fav song: - I Need a Man to Love - Summertime - Piece of My Heart - Oh, Sweet Mary - Ball and Chain -

Amazing experience, epic Janis vocals