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.

OKAY JANIS

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

Cracker. Surprise Janis Joplin gem.

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.

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. 👍

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.

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

Brilliant album. Nice bit of Janis screeching away!

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!

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

Enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Good would listen again

I’d never listened to this. Amazing

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Who let Marge Simpson join Jefferson Airplane?

Was expecting generic blues rock with Janis Joplin making an appearance for "Another Piece Of My Heart". A lot of the blues albums on here are covers of black blues artists who's versions are often better but not mentioned. I was quite wrong about this album though. Sure there are some covers but the covers are really good. Janis vocals really is the star of the show and leaves her own mark on many classics. "Summertime" is a cool cover, so is "Ball and Chain". "Piece of my heart" is the song I recognize from this album and it is good but I never thought it was amazing. Put in the context of this album i think elevates it quite a lot. Honestly I've listened to this album on repeat, its the perfect length of around 40 minutes and I enjoy the whole thing. There is not 1 single amazing song but I still think it deserves a 5 star.

Janis Joplin is a legend, hands down. And on her last album as the lead singer of the band Big Brother & The Holding Company, she gave a masterclass. Her voice is capable of cross our souls and making us feel whatever she wants. "Piece Of My Heart" is a classic, and just like its singer, it has proven to be timeless over the years.

5 stars! One of my favorite albums. Absolutely stellar

Never knew Janis Joplin was in a band. Never heard of this band. But it was amazing!

Great album. A lot of classics I recognize from movies.

Just amazing.

Day 68 - Nov 22nd, 2024 In Janis Joplin we trust. 5/5

Llegamos al viernes. Tengo la sensación de que ya escuché este disco en el reto pero, si no es así, agradezco volver a éste álbum: Janis Joplin me lleva directamente a mis primeros años en la universidad y a un descubrir diario. La potencia de esta mujer con su voz rota, pasional a más no poder, fueron vanguardia y son inigualables. Y si a eso le sumamos el sonido de éste trabajo, es sólo un viaje de ida. Buen finde.

Ah so this is what the fuss was about! :)

So freaking good. Everything Janis touched turned to gold. Great covers and originals. “Piece of My Heart” is an amazing song; one of the best ever. “Combination of the Two,” “Summertime,” and “Ball and Chain” were my other favorites, but there wasn’t one song here I disliked. I listened to this on repeat a few times and it never got old.

Janis had one of those voices that was impossible to replicate. It gives all this music a raw quality and an edge that makes it that much more enduring. This album deserves to be blasted at as high a volume as possible.

Janis Joplin en directo. Espectacular.

Raw and rough...just amazing!

Janis Joplin is impressive

What a great album. Can’t believe I haven’t listened to it before.

Janis was something else

Big fan of the Jan

I LOVED THIS. Ok I’ve got to be honest I’ve never listened to BB&THC, let alone Janis Joplin before. Sure, I’ve heard of JJ, but I know her being referenced in the same sentence as Woodstock or the infamous 27 Club. I’ve never been particularly pulled to seek her out and listen. Anyways, I popped this on in the car, commuting to work and from the first listen I was truly blown away. It’s fun & funky and I couldn’t get enough. (….I was kinda getting Marge Simpson vibes with Janis’ voice from time to time. ) I’m grabbing the album on vinyl as soon as I can and putting into my rotation.

Everything about this album works on some level- the unique cover art, raw vocals, epic guitar riffs- is it possible for the '60s to get much cooler?

“Psychedelic blues” is not a combination of words that I like to hear, but leave it to Janis Joplin to overcome that and then some. I love the way the band kinda sucks. They sound like they’re about to fly off the rails from the first few measures of the first song, right up until the end, but they never really do. And Joplin herself was never on the rails to begin with. Everything she did was good to me, but this is the best. Sounds like her in a natural state, whereas later albums sound a bit reigned in. Love Cheap Thrills, always have always will.

I am very familiar with this album. Janis ' voice is like no other, raw and emotional. Her version of Summertime is one of my favorites. Its tragic to listen knowing she would be gone at 27 a couple of years after Cheap Thrills.

This is a raw an powerful rock and roll album. It is a peak for 60's blues driven music. The classic hard driving fuzzy 60's guitar work is exemplary. Joplins voice and style fits perfect for the band and the moment. SHe sings with such power and emotion. Now, knowing her traumatic history, how troubled she was, and that she would be dead within 2 years makes it feel like you are listening to someone tragically in throws of killing herself. Summertime is famously one of my favorite numbers and I love the juxtaposition of her voice singing what was meant to be a jazzy operatic song. 4.6

Somehow I’ve never listened to this whole album and so thankful I did. What a snapshot of an era and an incredible talent.

Loved it

Simply one of the best psychedelic rock records ever recorded, and a prime example of why live albums are often better than studio recordings.

A very cool album. An interesting mix of genres and styles, and Janis Joplin absolutely killing it on vocals. Loved it.

Summer of love psychedelic feel good rock with Janis Joplin's voice that pop music has been chasing ever since. Ahead of it's time and massively influential. Kick back and enjoy some dripping guitar solos with chilled out bass.

This album is heavy and rules.

janis joplin has SUCH a voice, her rasp can literally shake up whatever room she's in i feel. this alone makes me rank it pretty high. this album is a loud, trippy and almost choral sounding ride. while some people may find it a little bonkers, it's this pivotal turn in rock music that was refreshing especially for its time.

Janis rocks!!!

Way back in my review of The Who's LIVE AT LEEDS, I made a big deal vouching for the inclusion of live albums on this list. In short, if you haven't read it: there are just some bands where the studio setting didn't do their sound justice. Sure, they could sound **good** in the studio, but what they could do on stage is another level entirely. The Holding Company—as far as I'm hearing from this video I'm watching as I type this—was one of those bands. After their smash hit show at the Monterey Pop Festival and their debut studio album, the people were **clamoring** to hear the band's live sound captured on record. For some people, it was a hotter, more anticipated release than The Beatles' White Album. And come August 12th... Well, they sort of got it? Kind of, technically? Maybe not, depending on how you look at it? Most people these days probably know this, but in case you, the reader, don't, lemme jus' rip this off: this is a studio album. And it's not even a funky hybrid case like Frank Zappa's SHEIK YERBOUTI, where he overdubbed the shit out of live tracks. Despite what the cover claims, only one song on this album was recorded live, and it wasn't even where the cover says it was supposed to have been. This album is "live" in the same way "Bennie And The Jets" is, or Richard Cheese playing a royal wedding or Mos Eisley Spaceport. But putting that aside—would you know if I didn't tell you? They still kill it. They still rock to shit. Sure, even the **crowd noises** were recorded in the studio, but it's all put together so well, and the music is so good, I can hardly care. It's like the accusations lobbied against KISS's ALVIE! or Thin Lizzy's LIVE AND DANGEROUS being a studio creation. Sure, they lied about what kind of album this was, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get over it, y'know? Generally, I'd still enter it into the same pantheon as NO SLEEP 'TIL HAMMERSMITH and MADE IN JAPAN. And with it being at a nice, tight 37 minutes, too, there's no reason why you shouldn't give it a spin and try it out. It ain't a ball and chain; y'ain't got nuthin' to lose.

Wasn't hitting for me in the first couple tracks, but once Piece of My Heart came on, that sentiment changed into one of "Holy fuck, this is some good ass blues rock." Janis' vocals are one of a kind, and the instrumentation is superb, 'specially on the more bluesy tracks. 4.5 bumped up to 5, despite those slower tracks at the start.

I’m at a 10. I’ve never heard Janis Joplin’s voice until today – her name is pretty damn well known, but finally listening to her… god, what a voice. Extremely unique for its era – Ella Fitzgerald she sure as shit is not. One of the grittiest, harshest, and yet most empowering voices I think I’ve ever heard, and the range of her voice is on full display throughout this album. Really, the only thing I could complain about is that the band behind her is so fucking good that it’s incredibly easy to zone out and be mesmerized by their guitars and percussion. Combine that with Janis’s voice and you have a deadly weapon of “being so into it you literally forget what the best parts are,” and that’s where I’m at – I would normally wax poetic about individual pieces of an album, but this all blended together to make 37 of the most entertaining minutes I’ve heard yet. The one thing I can wax poetic about though is the absolutely stunning “Piece of My Heart” – just a bombastic track. Janis is on fire, the band’s on fire, the whole thing is a masterpiece on wax, and a truly flawless song. It’s worthy of a 5 by itself, but this whole album feels like it deserves far higher; just a masterclass to me. Absolutely fantastic stuff.

YES!! Oh Janis, why did you have to leave us so soon?

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

Rip Janis💛 sempre una leggenda

Janis Joplin is so amazing. I adore her cover of Summertime, Piece Of My Heart is a classic and I Need A Man To Love Me is also just extremely good. Then you even have the wonderful progrock of Ball And Chain. Amazing album.

Zonder na te denken een 5. Janis Joplin is de meest underrated Club 27 artiest. Wat een stem. Wat een vrouw. Wat een muziek.

Are we able to vote higher than five stars? Such a brilliant album. The more you listen to it the more you want to listen to it. Another great example of music written and recorded when it was artists pushing other artists to be their best. This album holds a special place in my library.

The best album so far, i regret i gave 5 stars to other albums before this

I absolutely loved this one. Really neat pseudo-live style that works for the music. Great vocals and ripping guitar that sometimes sounds like a precursor to metal. Also doesn’t outstay it’s welcome at a brisk 37 minutes.

Looooooooove these tunes

++: I Need a Man to Love, Summertime, Turtle Blues, Ball and Chain +: Combination of the Two, Piece of My Heart, Oh, Sweet Mary 9,0/10

I think this album showed what Janis Joplin. could’ve really been. I know most people like Pearl better. but I think this one showcased her power and energy more. What a shame.

Janis Joplin went the fuck off here. Amazing album.

This is everything I wanted it to be. The distorted guitar, the trance-like rhythm section, Janis' wailing vocals. Love it.

A very fine specimen of psychedelic proto-stoner rock, this is a splendid soundtrack for my secret and occasional desire to have lived in that space and time. Dropping some acid, floating to the Fillmore, listening to Ginsberg read some poetry and then this. Phoahh! The Kozmic Kaleidoscope, man! Favourite track: "Oh, Sweet Mary" indeed. I rate this 4.20 radiant tendrils of dazzling blooms. ✌

❤️JANIS

This is a fantastic album. Janis Joplin is such a rockstar. Her voice carries every song, but it’s set against impressively heavy music and really blended seamlessly with it. I listened twice and will listen again in the future.

New to me. Great album with some nice guitar tunes and an amazing female singer. Saved 3 songs as favorite.

Janis joplin

Listened to almost all of it, very cool

This feels like the ultimate 60s rock record to me. Blew me away.

Fantastic, legendary album. I feel like the combo of Joplin’s voice and those guitars rewire my brain every time I hear them

Remembered that one

My favourite kind of Janis. This was a good listen,

In love with the vibes and the mix between blues and rock. Makes you wanna go on a road trip

That album is awesome!

Cheap Thrills is the second studio album by San Fransisco-based band Big Brother and The Holding Company. Their debut self-titled record was released the year prior (1967) on the somewhat underground jazz label ironically named Mainstream Records. It was largely forgettable to the masses although it does have some solid blues psych tracks. Big Brother truly hit the jackpot with their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. They were only supposed to play one day at the festival but upon hearing that their performance would not be recorded, Janis Joplin demanded to play a second set the following day that would be included in the film. In attendance were many powerful record executives looking to cash in on the new San Fransisco sound. One of those record executives being Clive Davis, of Columbia Records. He, like much of the crowd, was blown away by the commanding presence of Joplin and subsequently signed the band. Cheap Thrills was their first record for Columbia, and was the last Big Brother record to include lead singer Janis Joplin. Now, onto the album. It was originally planned to be a live album, but the live cuts were not up to par with the executives' expectations so most of the album was re-recorded in the studio. The only live performance to remain on the final cut was Ball and Chain. I think moving to the studio was not the best move. Big Brother was known for their live act. The backing band wasn't the best, so I think they benefited from the more gritty live sound. However, the presence of Janis Joplin is so attention-demanding that it just makes the album. Her voice is so powerful on these performances and you can feel the pain and heartbreak from her soul. Her voice surely isn't for everyone, but it's certainly for me. That combined with the dirty fuzz guitar is just a match made in psychedelic blues heaven. This album is truly a relic of the psychedelic era of the late 60s and is sure to transport you to Haight-Ashbury in 1968 or maybe even to an evening at the Fillmore West. Sleep in the stars, Janis.

Great