Cheap Thrills

Janis is cray 9/21/2026

A "live" album that save one track was done in studio. Janis Joplin is a force of nature on this album showing her blues roots. finishing the standard album with a Big Mama Thornton cover. And their blues rock is more than respectful of its roots, it's a summit of the form. And a heck of an album cover by comic book artist R. Crumb.

Production is rough with this one, but a great sound and vibe.

55

The more I listen to this, the less I like Janis Joplin and the more I appreciate the musicianship of Sam Andrew and Co. 3 Boolean: 🤷‍♀️ not null, I guess True

Marge from "The Simpsons" Sings the Blues 2/10

These were top shelf thrills

Vet cool!

Went I to this completely blind. I don't know much of Janis Joplin, so really surprised to learn she was in a band. Pleasantly surprised with this one. A real gem and perfectly fits list. 4/5

Janis is awesome

I don't get why everyone loves Janis Joplin. Her vocals aren't bad, but her voice is a bit too raspy and screechy for me. And without loving Janis, this is just another ok late 60s psychadelic album.

Janis had an amazing voice. This ain't my jam

608/1089 - I'd rather have something weird like Starsailor or cool like Empyrean Isles for another 60s pick rather than blues rock album #57 or whatever. Ugly raspy voice as well. I really don't understand the "it has soul and feeling!" types of music like Blues and some Folk and stuff. I wish I did because I think it's cool to enjoy things and understand more things. Maybe I'll learn in the future.

What a voice. The rough sound around it makes it even better.

Fun, cool, sounds great in stereo

Very good! 4/5

It’s fine. I don’t particularly like Janis Joplin, but I didn’t hate it.

No denying Janis Joplin's singing chops. I just didn't love the music that accompanied it. Why are there so many live albums on this list?

In the beginning of the album, I didn't think I was going to be a fan of it at all. It sounded too psychedelic for my liking, and felt that it might've been too much fuzz in electrical sounds coming from the guitar rather than the actual notes. However, as I continued listening on, it wasn't that bad of an album. I do appreciate Janis Joplin for all that she has done for the 60s. I did like how we were able to go from psychedelic rock to more pop songs and even a blues tune there which I actually enjoyed. I was not expecting that which I think turned into a pleasant surprise. I won't listen to this album again just because I don't like most of the songs, but the few that I enjoyed were actually very good. Album Rank: 3.0 Favorite Song: Flower in the Sun

Love it

I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but Janis was always a female Robert Plant to me

some nice playing, I'm just a bit hot and cold over joplins voice

Fand ich irgendwie sehr underwhelming. Finde Janis Joplin eh schon etwas überhyped aufgrund ihrer zwar zweifelsfrei außergewöhnlichen Stimme, aber doch eher durchschnittlichem Songwriting im Hintergrund. Teilweise sind die Songs ja hier als Live-Mitschnitte aufgemacht und ich hätte es auch fast geglaubt. Die Soundqualität ist nicht wirklich gut und generell wirkt das Songwriting hier dermaßen unfokussiert. Man hat wirklich oft das Gefühl, dass hier einfach nur ein wenig zu klassischen Blues-Riffs gejammt wird. Drei Songs haben mir dann irgendwie doch ganz gut gefallen, darunter natürlich der Klassiker "Piece of My Heart", der allerdings nicht von der Band geschrieben wurde. Der Rest ist für mich uninspirierter Blues-/Psychedelic Rock, den man schon tausend Mal besser gehört hat.

Ach das war nett, hat mich irgendwann verloren weil alles relativ repetetiv klang, aber hat Spaß gemacht. Die Entscheidung das als Fake Live Album zu verkaufen finde ich aber fragwürdig.

There is only so much Janis shrieking I can take. This album tests this limit. But there's still some great blues in there, too.

I'm too young for this kind of music.

Janis rules. Really good record.

Not a bad album and Janis Joplin rocks!

First off, I've gotta say. What an album cover. Second, sometimes there is beauty in rawness, and i think that would be the perfect way to describe this album. Admittedly, I've not dived into Janis Joplin's catalog, and I've gotta say, after listening to this album I'm very disappointed in myself for waiting so long. I mean, seriously, this had to have been an absolute mindfuck to listen to in year 1968, from a female vocalist. But while I absolutely could go on for paragraphs about Janis Joplin pretty much stealing the show and putting 99.9% of female vocalists in music history to shame, there's more to this album that makes it a great listen. This is a tremendous instrumentation album all around, groovy, bluesy, and flat out fun to listen to. Piece of my Heart is getting regular plays from here on, I truly loved listening to this song. I've been bouncing it in my head for a while... but you know what, I've gotta do it. This is a 5/5 listen for me.

cool cover

Just not doing it for me.

It's good. I like it better than other bands of the time like The Grateful Dead. But it was a lot of the same, I don't think I need more than the one hit.

bluesy, stem past er goed bij. niet voor mij

What an album. REALLY REALLY fun. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could. I was groovin the whole time, but nothing moved me behind my touchas.

Just amazing. Such a voice. You really feel this one while you hear it.

Very entertaing - a tight 70s rock band having fun. The annoying thing about Janis Joplin was her musical agoraphobia - she was terrified to leave a space in the music, and populated each gap with spurious ad libs that ended up making standards of piece of my heart and summertime sound cheesy.

Janis Joplin focused album. Really enjoyed the r crumb art, also enjoyed the bait and switch of including live audience audio when the album is a studio recording.

Janis Joplin’s voice remains one if a kind and powerful

I've never been huge into Janis Joplin despite loving acid rock. I didn't really get the link--she always just seemed more blues or folk than someone like Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix or The Doors. This album was actually a pleasant surprise as a result, I kind of get it a little better. Definitely tracks like Combination of the Two and to some extent Summertime. (Recognized a sample Eminem used there). Ball and Chain in the extended album version was good too. Oh Sweet Mary was excellent. Anyway, still not sure these guys come close to some of the best of the era. I think because Joplin died around the same time as Hendrix and Morrison, she gets compared to them. But I'm not sure the impact on music is anywhere near as huge. If Grace Slick had died and not Joplin, well then the comparisons would be just. 3/5

Bruh how does she sing like that

This album is a blues rock masterclass. Never heard it before but it's a banger, bonus points for the album cover - close to a 5 Piece of my heart was 🔥

Loved this. That cover of "Piece of my Heart" is wonderful.

Solidan album zapravo, cak mi se svidaju ovak rock/blues stvari.

Janis Joplin sounds fantastic and the whole thing felt warming somehow.

Actually amazing album! High 4* 4/5

NOT CHEAP ENOUGH

Fuck. Yeah. Know some Janice but first time with this album. Great.

Janis Joplin. Hell yeah. I don't know that I know this record, but acid rock is awesome. I'm too sober to listen to this record as it's intended, but it's excellent. Piece of My Heart is an all-time song and their version is my favorite. This album is really interesting sounding, as the fake crowd noises make it seem like it might have been live (it was not.)

appreciate it but overall don't really loooove psychedelic rock. piece of my heart is a banger of course

8.8/10 Fav track: Summertime

How does someone's voice sound like that at 25?

If I invented a time machine, it would be so that I could see Janis Joplin singing "Piece of My Heart" at the Fillmore in San Francisco, 1968.

Listened

5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background One great song surrounded by a lot of mediocrity.

not good at all

Favorite tracks: I Need a Man to Love, Piece of My Heart

Been a while since I've listened to anything from Janis. What a voice

Faking a live album is quite a choice!

Thought I’d enjoy it more than I did. Was a middling 3.5 besides my fav Piece of my Heart, Janis is great but not as great as I thought she’d be. Rounded down

Not bad 🤷‍♂️

I only assume this is in the have to hear list because you have to hear how awful it is

quite liked it

Great live album

Guitar is off the scale, absolutely brilliant played blues with such feeling. Vocals speak for themselves, one of the few female vocalists that could pull it off. Loved every note.

Everything I love in one album. That explosive combination of male and female vocals with gorgeous guitar types me up. Cover is fucking cool too. This is already on regular rotation; one of the easiest 5s I've awarded.

Var en sang som trakk opp, her også.

Album #189: Big Brother and the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Some of this is very, very, very good. Some of the best ‘60s American rock music that I can think of. It’s fantastic. Not so much when they veer from the blues/soul formula and drift into hippie psychedelia, like on Oh, Sweet Mary and Flower in the Sun. Those tracks, they can’t really do. Not nearly as well as the likes of Jefferson Airplane. They kind of pale in comparison to the style that they’re best known for, and that is the blues and the heavy soul rock. While I’m on the bad stuff, I don’t love the piped in audience sounds. Sometimes it works, like on Turtle Blues, where it provides a smoky ambience. But giving yourself a round of applause after a tune just seems a little off to me. Why did they feel the need to do that? But onto the good stuff! The band are on fire. The riffs are deadly. The tone veers towards heavy, heavy hard rock at times. Combination of the Two is an excellent opening track, with great harmonies and one of the better jaunty tunes on the album. I Need a Man to Love, Janis just goes completely manic on that song. Summertime and Turtle Blues are slow, sultry blues. But the best three tracks on the album are absolute quality. Roadblock makes me wonder what Janis would have sounded like fronting a Creedence cover band. Ball and Chain had a riff that’s heavier than any Jimi or Cream riff that I can think of at the time. It’s near proto metal. And Piece of My Heart, which by any metric is one of the greatest recordings ever. An all-time favourite song of mine. And as for Janis, she’s such a strange voice. It’s like a more soulful Tom Waits. In a weird way it seems like she is incapable of fully projecting it. It’s raspy as all hell and it sounds absolutely ruined at times. Like it’s been torn to shreds before she’s even begun her career. But my God, is it moving, and so suited to the blues. Shame she couldn’t have sung a little longer.

Important band, short lived JJ

Extra star for how good her voice is

I've heard a lot of great things about Janis Joplin over the years. I hope her solo stuff is a better introduction to her work because this was disappointing. Often times her voice is pretty hard to listen to. I get the impression that it's one of those voices you have to listen to over and over again and it will grow on you. However, there was nothing else here musically that was exciting enough to make me want to do that. Tbh, I think the racist artwork is also souring my opinion on the music a bit. I try to be objective. But, when THAT'S the first thing I see, my immediate instinct is to hope I'll dislike it. I can't help it.

I liked this. I like Janis Joplin. I love Piece of my Heart and I really like her version of Summertime. I didn't like all the songs though. Some were a little too bluesy for me.

Bluesy rock and roll with gravelley Janis Joplin vocals. Still a little empty sounding.

Really boring except for one of the songs.

Combination of the two - 3 I need a man to love - 4 Summertime - 4 Piece of my heart - 5 Turtle blues - 3 Oh, sweet mary - 4 Ball and chain - 3 Roadblock - 3 Flower in the sun - 3 Catch me daddy - 3 Magic of love - 3

Favorite Track: Piece of My Heart

Not a fan of Joplin’s voice.

This record is alright but I don't love it, I prefer Janis Joplin's later solo work (and I'm not a huge Joplin fan period). I'm kinda over 60s rock bands playing paint by numbers blues songs. Their cover of Summertime is actually pretty good.

Solid album. Janice is great. Very cool 4/5

Good vibes contributing to the fake-live album. Unfortunately never been a Janice Joplin fan and her wailing tanks an otherwise enjoyable album. 2/5

Irritant album. Alleen piece of my heart is leuk

good music, racist album cover art

Twas pretty nive

This sound just doesn't exist anymore (for better or worse). I really enjoyed this. Incomparable singer.

Oikein hyvä blues rock-levy, joka on osittain äänitetty livenä. Janis Joplinin karhean sielukas ääni toimii taustabändiä paremmin.

It was fine

Yeah, that's somme good shit...

gritty

Basic blues rock

Early Janis Joplin.

not really for me but pretty epic, reminded me of helter skelter in across the universe

not bad

besides listening to her hits on the radio, I don't know that I've ever listened to an entire Janis Joplin album. I always thought of her as having an unusual voice, but hearing her rendition of Summertime made me realize how much of a jazz voice she has. She uses her voice the same way Billie Holiday did, creating sound and weaving it into the music like a horn.

Not my type of music. It is a rare instance where I wish there was more vocals than instrumentals. Also RIP to all the bros getting one-shotted by Robert Crumb's crass and ass artwork... it was a big jumpscare.

beautiful. soulful, groovy, and intense in all the right ways while letting listeners come up for air every now and again. the album art makes me ummm uhh ask some questions

Janis really stands out for me here, the rest is kind of meh. I never would have known this wasn't a live album though... Cover art is a big yikes.

Piece of my heart and other, deservedly less popular, songs.

Idk sometimes Janis Joplin sounded like Marge Simpson on this one

Big Brother & The Holding Company – Cheap Thrills (1968) On Day 240, it proved that music simply cannot get any more blues than this. Janis Joplin went completely nuts on this record her vocals were unbelievable, and the guitar work was absolute chef's kiss. Highlights like "Combination of the Two," "I Need a Man to Love," and "Ball and Chain" hit exceptionally hard, but honestly, the entire LP was banger after banger. You genuinely cannot tell this was recorded in the 1960s with how timeless and heavy it sounds. Having known her from "Maybe" beforehand, hearing her voice across this whole project made me fully understand why she is so iconic. A flawless 5-star blues-rock masterpiece. An undisputed 5/5.

I know of this album, and as someone who's not entirely a fan of the general Janis Joplin sound, I wasn't expecting it to suit my tastes. I've heard some compilations in the past, but this is really well achieved. There's more than a handful of star tracks, and the stuff in between is actually really good. 4.1/5

Janis MF Joplin! I had no idea this was her band. The more I listened, the more I liked it.

Great album, "Combination of the Two" and "Piece of my Heart" are quite amazing.

Cover art almost made me skip this album 😂 Glad I didn't. Pretty good. I like the bluesy vocals 💙💙 Thx

3.4/5

this was fun aalbum ilike it

A great album which I don't think I've listened to in it's entirety. Great 60's rock and roll with classic Janis vocals. Very enjoyable.

Cheap Thrills is held up by many as the high water mark of counter culture psychedelic rock, thanks in large part to their lead vocalist, Janis Joplin. While Joplin needs very little introduction (her raw, bluesy voice is as colorful and expressive as the R. Crumb comic book style album cover), the Big Brother & The Holding Company as a whole have never gotten the credit they deserved. I'm not even a fan of psychedelic jams and found myself hooked to what was coming through the speakers, and that says a lot. Add in clever audio effects like crowd banter, glasses clinking, and scattered applause and you get the fun impression of seeing the band in a smoke filled dive bar (only the last two tracks are actually live, btw). Color me impressed!

I skip every live album, and almost skipped this one... Until I read the Wikipedia article. The sounds of a cheering crowd apparently were added in the mix, and this album was not actually live. Solid rock and roll.

I almost skipped this because it started like a live album and I hate live albums.

Janis Joplins Voice is awesome, period

the most beautiful way to return !!!! WE ARE SO BACK prob a 4.5 but rounding upppp

no choice but to show up for miss janis

Cool cool album. Ive never been a few fan of Janis Joplin, i have one of her older records and didnt love it, but i really loved her expression and power here. Fun rocknroll album, 4 stars. Oh sweet mary was amazing.

Great album.

Combination of the Two - 8/10. Bad-ass blues tune. I Need a Man to Love - 9/10. Incredible vocals, another bad-ass blues song. Summertime - 10/10. Wow. This is insanely great. Piece of My Heart - 11/10. This one goes straight to 11. An all-time classic. Turtle Blues - 8/10. Excellent. Oh, Sweet Mary - 8/10. A very different song from the rest of the album. This is basic 60s psychadelia (well done, but still psychadelia). Ball and Chain - 9/10. Great blues jam. Overall Rating - 4.50/5 (9.00/10). A classic 5-star album.

An objectively good album. Janis' voice is fantastic. Very countercultural, late 60s. Subjectively, it's not really for me. 4/5.

Not really for me

Morceaux préférées : 3 : Summertime 7 : Ball and Chain

couple of good songs appart from that pretty boring

Very unpolished, did not enjoy

There is some great vocals and guitar work on this album, but there are some moments (especially in the second half) that kind of just fade into the background. Still, not a bad album. It's a mid 4

Oh, hello Janis (“hello”)

Everyone is really doing their part!! Very well at that!! Good shit

Fantastic blues rock with Joplin's electric vocals and fuzzy guitar solos. Superb musicianship on display here, and each track totally draws you in. Also great album cover.

Just flawless Janis

Not my favorite, but the vocals went crazy. Sound absolutely banged, but it wasn’t the kind of music I would usually seek out. Still pretty cool and pretty classy I will say

Great blues/psychedelic vibes and Janis Joplin with the pipes!

Solid album

marge simpson

Joplin and backing acid rock blues musicians. Some standouts like 'summer time' and 'I need a man to love', it's a good album but I can live without this.

Not a huge Joplin guy, but this was a good listen with surprisingly awesome guitar work.

Nuwe favourite album die is soooo insanely goed. Janis joplin het crazyyy vocals sy moes insane live gewees het. Nie 'n slegte liedjie nie kitaar is ook baie lekker

This doesn't affect my rating but does anybody else get Marge Simpson vibes when Janis goes into her scream/growl? Wish Big Brother would've stayed together. The material was much better. Love the vibe. Wish I could've been there to see this live. 4.5/5

I just really can't do Janis Joplin, and the rest of the music was mid at best.

For my money, I will take Janis nearly any day of the week over more “conventional“ vocalists. I will admit that the screechiness can be a bit much to take when you’re not in the mood for it . But if you are one of those who believe Faith Hill’s cover of, “Piece of my Heart,“ is better for any other than the most technical of reasons, I have grave concerns about your soul.

Exceptional blues rock, in which the guitars are just as raw and jagged as Joplin’s voice. This is what the Blues sound like.

Powerful Janis Joplin vocals.

8/10

Chaotic, exciting, bluesy Rock n Roll. Really enjoyed this album and some of those songs on the first side like covers of Summertime and Take a Little Piece of My Heart were incredible. The second side dipped in quality a little I felt so giving it 4 stars instead of 5 stars for that.

mediocre recording and mixing don't exactly bring out the best in an already fairly unpleasant to listen to vocalist. there's a bit of good guitar work but it's not enough to salvage anything

I forgot how much I enjoy these songs

wow la guitarra y la voz desgarradora de la cantante me deslumbraron, hace mucho no me sentia tan viva con un album nuevo. Increible, cierro los ojos e inmediatamente estoy ahí

We love raspy womennnnn and Piece of my Heart is such a banger!! Very soulful, rhythmic album and some awesome riffs

I thought Janis and her friends had done a decent job of trying to sound like Led Zep until I realised this came out before any Led Zep albums and now I have a few fresh thoughts and questions about Led Zep.

Garage rock more or less - a welcome antidote to the tedium of psychedelia

Not a fan but I have to give it a three I guess.

I like the cover a lot better than the music.

this was fire. janis joplin's vocals are insane. somewhere between a 4 and a 5 for me.

2/10 Very much not on my radar.

This was pretty cool

Yes. Great album. Somehow I'd completely missed Janis Joplin as an artist, was only vaguely aware of her existence, but what a voice! Combined with a superb band it's another disk fully deserving of its place here.

I'm starting to realise as someone in their 20s I'm ok probably notably you get than most people leaving reviews on this site

Janis Joplin’s voice is easily the highlight here. The rest of the album is pretty uninspired, sloppily-played rock music.

Me pareció un muy buen álbum de principios, a fin tal vez algunas canciones no se quedan con uno pero uno lo disfruta, disfruta la banda disfruta la voz de Janis

Piece of my Heart and Summertime are my favorites, RIP Janis, 3 stars

Vary loud and energetic but at it feels like Most of the songs shows all it has to offer immediately

Another one that's clearly a decent album but does absolutely nothing for me.

Really enjoyed this - pushed up to a four by the cover which is great

Pretty great blues rock record. I'd like a bit more virtuosity on the instrumental side and Janet Joplin is a bit too one-note for me, but wow, what a note.

Early Janis Joplin. It was perfect driving the backroads of New Hampshire dropping our son off at a New England summer camp experience.

I like Janis Joplin a lot, but I like her a lot more when she's doing her own thing a year or so after this.

To whoever compares Janis Joplin’s voice to a dying dog or criticizes her for not being conventionally attractive enough for their taste, you’re on my shitlist.

Started good, but towards the end I began to find the singing to be getting grating

I like what this represents and I know it was revolutionary at the time, just never really cared for Janice.

I like how its little comic things just don't like the songs

not for me but its not horrible

Because it’s Janis Joplin.

7/10… psychedelic rock / blues / *1968

Unremarkable blues rock album, except that it has Janis Joplin.

I imagine this had some cult status in the 70's. Pretty enjoyable listening, considering it's from '68 too. The mastering (at least on Apple Music) is incredible, and you can tell they're having fun with the fact its stereo. Overall I actually liked it a fair amount. Not stuff I'd listen to every other day, but I can respect the curation of their image/sound and that at the time this would have been aaaawesome

Heard before?:❌️ Will listen again?:✔️ 3.5💗

Raw and powerful, with Janis Joplin’s voice matching the guitars for intensity and range. A tad crunchy for me, but with some real bangers.

Decent, bluesy rock but Janis’ vocals weren’t working for me on some of the tracks. Probably not something I’d listen to again all the way through.

Janis Joplin will always get 5 stars from me.

Lively !

What a voice, a lot of talent in this band and very of its time but in a good way. It’s not a massive repeat listen for me - outside of the massive massive hit - but it’s not a bad record in any means. 3.5/5.0 Best Song: Piece Of My Heart

It's a fun album, i like the more garage vibe tracks though. They are clearly a very good band, and she had such a unique voice for the time. It was a good album but don't think its the kind of thing i will rush to put on again

8.5/10

Cheap thrills it's the last album recorded with Janis Joplin as vocalist before she went to pursue the astonishing solo carreer we remembering today. One of the most impressive and weird things about this record, it is the fact that Paul Simon incorporated crowd noises making you think that it's a live record, when in reality it is not. The band indeed recorded at Bill Graham Fillmore Auditorium as you can see in the cover (designed by cartoonist Robert Crumb) still only one song was recorded entirely live. Singles like Summertime, Piece of my Heart and Ball in Chain gave this record a massive success in terms of popularity since the year before the band held a massive performance at Monterey Pop Festival making them even more famous than they were. Woodstock 1969 saw Janis became a mega star launching a "best of" concert with all of these songs with the Kozmic Blues Band, making her a star and the great vocalist we've always known. Cheap Thrills was the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was preserved into the National Recording Registry for the 2012 register. Everything you need to know about this record it is probably on this last statement. It is without a doubt, the epitome of Blues Rock and an amazing journey through one of the most decorating and beautiful records from the 1960's. Acid rock at it's finest. No more, no less.

Somehow this is my first time properly listening to Janis despite being big fans of her psych/blues rocks contemporaries, yeah i still haven’t listened to Pearl. Enjoyed it a fair bit, it’s reaaaaally 60’s for sure. Her voice is oddly comparable to Brian Johnson of ACDC when she gets screechy. Standouts are I Need A Man To Love, Summertime, Piece of My Heart and Ball and Chain.

Whoa…

Kinda sloppy, hippy blues … but oh, that singer

Maso

Blues rock with Janis singing. Great blues singer, songs are ok.

As amazing as Joplin's voice is, some tracks can be irritating

I have never consciously listened to Janis Joplin. Holy shit. What a voice. Turns out I was familiar with [A Piece Of My Heart] a display of her range and power. She's soulful, playful and furious in equal measures. It's easy to focus on the vocals but the band themselves can play. Emotive guitar [Ball and Chain] with periods of fuzzy heaviness and blues that epitomises the psych rock era. Fantastic rhythm section, most evident on [Oh Sweet Mary] - the drums in particular are dynamic throughout the album bringing fire when required. 4* almost 5.. Might change it as I'll definitely throw this on again.

The production is really good on this, but some of the tracks are a slog. Lets face it, we're only here for Janis Joplin's voice. Gives me a chill man.

There's a couple of tracks that most musos will recognise, and there's a few tracks which might new new to some, but the album is spoiled by the fake live atmosphere. JJ has a powerful voice, but I found it grating after a while.

Exactly how I imagine the 60s sounded

No soy fan de Janis, su voz en mis oidos no es algo satisfactorio en ciertos momentos de las canciones, tampoco diría que tiene una voz 'fea'. Hace algunos años hubiera dicho que era irritante y sucia, que cantaba como un gallo, rogaba a mi hermana por que pusiera cualquier otra cosa, pero ahora que escuché con un poco más de atención, decir eso sería insultar el talento que Janis tiene con alcanzar notas dificiles e intensas, supongo que solo no me termina de agradar. Pensándolo mejor, me desagrada mucho cuando grita, pero eso no quiere decir que no pueda reconocer que veo el motivo por el cual a muchos otros les gusta. Mi calificación es carente de objetividad, hace unos años me tenia algo irritado escucharla diario en mi casa gracias a mi hermana... no era agradable en lo absoluto y llegaba a tener dolores de cabeza por ello tras escucharla por horas, pero en lo absoluto puedo culpar a nadie, es algo personal. No lo volvería a escuchar por voluntad propia. Mi único descontento sería la voz de Janis, a quienes les gusta su voz podrán disfrutarlo mucho más que yo seguramente.

О! Дженіс! Тут п,ятірочка)

Wow, sounds like shit, psychedelic blues rock. Really grown to dislike this stuff. Drags on and on. Joplins voice is the highlight, but the songs themselves yikes. 2 Heard before? Some Owned: No, 96/363 (26%) Will I get: No

My goodness my gracious. A three-star album in anyone else’s hands. But Janis. Oh Janis. She can have all the little pieces of my mealy little heart.

Love the Crumb artwork and boy does Janice sing her little heart out. Overall an enjoyable listen without being mind-blowing

Entre blues et rock psychédélique Toujours fan de la voix de Janis Joplin

Amazing vocals from Janis. A solid album.

3+

No doubt it's good and led to a lot, but Piece of my Heart will always be the standout track on the album.

Holy smokes, forgot how great Janis is.

This was a straight-up, funky time. I've not always been a huge fan of Janis Joplin, but her singing works well with the band here. I most liked the jamming sections with the phat guitars and groovy riffs. There's some great guitar work in there, and some real upbeat jams. 3.5 rounded up.

nice music but not such good production.

I listened to this while drinking an iced coffee in traffic, but I feel like it would be better appreciated on a giant hi-fi absolutely ripped on acid.

Enjoyed - some of the tracks a little long and meandering, but some great songs as well - good voice

Loved the vibe. Really enjoyed the canned live audience sounds surprisingly. The one-two punch of Summertime and Piece of My Heart really brought the whole thing together but I also really enjoyed Turtle Blues

Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t that! … I liked it 👍

INCRÍVEL 💯 palavras Boa música, vocalista de arrepiar

Cheap Thrills was recorded live in the studio with an audience — which explains the clapping, and also the energy. Janis Joplin performs like the room is on fire. The voice is the thing. Raw, cracked, whiskey-and-cigarettes, every note costs something. People call it one of the great rock voices. I kept thinking of Marge Simpson. This is not a knock. Marge has real emotional range. The music around Joplin is genuinely good. But once the image is in your head, it stays. 3/5 — distinctive, emotional, unmistakable. Also: Marge.

A good blues rock album with nice jams and lengthy songs, elevated greatly by Janis Joplin's stellar vocals. I love that they can go full on rocking as well as psychedelic and soulful. Unfortunately, the B-side pales in comparison to the A-side, keeping it from being a real gem. 3.5/5 - strong

Putting aside the band here who are just sort of playing amped up blues, live or otherwise, that is largely nothing to write home about, the thing that stands out here and why it stands across time is Janis Joplin’s vocals. And the thing is I have never liked Janis Joplin’s vocals, because she generally either sounds like your uncle after 7 pints or like a cross between Marge Simpson and Robert Plant. I don’t find the rawness and lack of control in her voice as an affecting choice, more of an offputting one, so it’s all a wash for me.

I liked this more than I thought I would. It probably helps that I'm reading a book about San Francisco during the late 60s/early 70s. It does get a little jammy at times, but Janis was something else.

Подошва от старого ботинка соседа. Не интересно, скучно и пусто. Да я точно соглашусь, что песни из альбома в отдельных случаях и обстоятельствах даже могут заставить танцевать. Но если оценивать альбом, то слушать его невозможно. Если поставить на фон и заниматься совершенно другим - не поможет. Оценка 1/10.

This one was pretty good. Was hard to tell if the lead singer was a man or woman tbh

One of those sixties classics that hasn’t aged well. Janis has a good voice Blues based songs. Ball and Chain: outstanding. Long songs with lots of jamming. Average album: three stars.

Very enjoyable late 60s psychedelic, blue rock.

Wild vocals and energy, but songwriting is just OK

It was ok

Mag die Energie, die psychedelischen Elemente und die kratzige Stimme von Janis Joplin. Das Album ist ne richtige Zeitreise. Auf Albumlänge zieht sich das ganze aber für meinen Geschmack, die Gitarrenriffs sind manchmal ein bisschen zu viel und generell sticht kein Song richtig raus. Außerdem ist vor allem die erste Hälfte des Albums besser.

Pretty solid album, really good blend of psych and blues rock, but Janis Joplins vocals aren’t really for me.

Is it sacrilege to say I never enjoyed listening to Janis Joplin’s voice? Bit too shrill and shouty for my taste. In depths of my memory I can remember this band’s name buy nothing more. No surprise as wiki indicates the album made no impression in the Uk. Take away the vocals and there are one or two good guitar passages which redeems the album a small degree. 2/5 14/7/26

piola, lo escu charia en el auto

Distinctly indistinct

🍄🎸🐬🌸✨

Some of the sound mixing was iffy but cool vocals

I get that people love Joplin’s voice, but I just don’t like it at all. It all feels weirdly ego-centric and forced. The band is pretty good, and some of the songs are cool, but I also hate the fake audience. Overall, not an album for me.

As a Janis Joplin fan, I have to say that Big Brother & The Holding Company is pretty good.

Good Lord, people like the sounds of a dying cat???

The songs are pretty good and the band is tight but Janis makes the whole experience exceptional.

tbh Janis's voice is the worst part. Still great though.

Joplin to me is like nails on a blackboard. A different singer here and you'd have a decent album, maybe a good one. I mean, Summertime? Rape. Murder. Nope.

Love a bit of Janis Joplin

Big Brother and the Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills is a remarkably solid album where raw musical quality and powerhouse lead vocals easily compensate for the famously unpolished, muddy recording quality. Janis Joplin's performance truly carries the record to another level, bookended by stunning vocal moments like the beautiful, show-stopping "Summertime" and the shocking, rock-and-roll intensity that kicks off "Catch Me Daddy." The tracklist flows through high-energy, danceable grooves like the fun jam "Combination of the Two" and the infectious "Road Block," balanced by catchy tracks like "Oh, Sweet Mary" and nice, steady numbers like "I Need a Man to Love" and "Flower in the Sun." While staples like "Piece of My Heart" and the bluesy "Turtle Blues" land as decent, okay tracks, even the massive, sprawling "Ball and Chain" never feels its length because its best parts are so captivating—making it easy to overlook the rare misstep like "Magic of Love" on an otherwise unforgettable ride.

I wasn't super into this, and I admit that this kind of jammy-psych-blues sound of the 60s just isn't my thing. That said, the band was pretty tight, and there's no denying that Janis Joplin had one hell of a voice.

I unironically have a concert ad featuring Janis nude on my wall above my bed so yeah this is the easiest 5 stars I'll ever give until Pearl shows up on my feed.

Cool album but the long jams don’t really do it for me. “Summertime” is great though.

Love the cover art, it’s pretty psychedelic and all over the place. Reminds me of the underground comix style. As for the music, this album showcases Janis’ vocals. It’s raspy and fits so well with their blues sound. The Big Brother members seem to compose based around Janis. The mix definitely needs to be remastered on Spotify. Even at max volume on my phone I can’t fully appreciate the music. Overall it was pretty groovy, which I think is all you need for the blues. And they did their homework pretty well (3.5-4).

a period piece - overblown psychedelic guitars, the love-in vibe, and Janis giving her all, especially on the all-out attack on "Piece of My Heart", all wrapped in a Robert Crumb cover.

La voz de Janis siempre me rompe

Crossing Psychedelia and whiskey blues, I can't say that I'm really a fan. Janis Joplin went on to greater things before ending in the 27 Club.

A classic.

Enjoyed this and it's not a part of Joplin's career that I was familiar with.

eh

Best blues rock album of the 60s

⭐⭐⭐+ Blues rock/Psycadelisk rock. När jag började lyssna på albumet trodde jag att jag skulle gilla det mer än jag gjorde. Det är bra men det är inte fantastiskt och jag tappar lite intresset under albumets gång, tror att det kan bero på jag tycker att spåren i många fall har en känsla av att flyta ihop i ett långt jam. Kan lyfta med lite mer tid och lyssningar och kan mycket möjligt ge det fler lyssningar i framtiden. Janis Joplin är det som lyfter albumet till en svag 4a men flera gitarrpartier är också bra. Bäst är Summertime, Piece of my heart, Ball and chain, Roadblock

Good honest R&B with the addition of that wonderful voice.

I had never heard of Janis Joplin's first band. Until now, I only heard of her as a solo artist. This is the Janis show, and some of the best songs on the album are recognizable Janis hits that I already knew and loved. Great to hear them in this context. +1 point for the R. Crumb album artwork.

really great initial impression but i think it got a little old a little too fast for me. still good music but i may just not be in the right mood for it. some tracks i really enjoyed on here though! super unique vocal tone and some pretty great guitar, ill definitely give the later tracks in the album another try when im not in the office.

Surprised I've never listened to them before, hell of an album!

It's not a competition but I like the Big Brother era stuff better than her solo work. There is something about this album that is electric. The R Crumb cover really settles the album into peak-60s before the first notes even hit.

Enjoyed

This is another one I did the original vinyl release. Combination is a hell of an opener with its fast paced drums like a freight train and psychedelic guitar. Love the woo woo vocal line as well. The lead vocals weren’t doing much for me. Track two has Joplin front and center which is electric. A real powerhouse of a singer. Can’t be group vocals are a bit annoying but the guitar makes up for it. Summertime has such a memorable guitar part that always sticks with me. And the vocals have a lot of pain that is beautiful. And the center piece of this is outstanding. Mainly for that catchy chorus and those outrageous vocals from Janis. This bluesy number is decent enough. Musically it’s pretty basic but Joplin owns the track as usual. Sweet Mary has some great drum work. The guitar is solid too. And then the monster Ball and Chain has everything I’ve written about but at length. The length is a bit much at times.

Janis Joplin tends to be a little hit and miss for me, but this whole album landed on the hit side.

A very powerful blues rock album, indeed. There are several good tracks on this record, my favourite being "Piece of my Heart". The guitar work is really good, as is the drumming and of course, the vocals by Janis Joplin. The guitar tone is very powerful, rich and colourful (note the beginning of "Ball and Chain"). I really enjoyed listning to this album.

Ok album, lærte at janis joplin er med…

my boy just b doin anything

That is so awesome! Like a musical time capsule. I love the album. Janis sings so well; it sounds like sex and unbridled youth.

I think I underestimated Janis Joplin bc her voice is insane

Janis Joplin carries this to 3 stars. Not my jam, but certainly unique.

Legendary

Mad faux live sound to one side this is still strong.

I love her voice, even if she does sound like Marge Simpson

Queen gizzard and the lizard wizard, a great, raspy performance

It's always a pleasure to hear Janis Joplin. There are very soulful songs in here.

I am not old enough to like it more than three points.

4/5

Goddamn this lady has pipes. Like a female-lead Led Zeppelin, really great hard rock and blues, some classic songs. So much passion and intensity, you can't help but feel it. Wild. If you like Janis Joplin's voice you will love this album, if you don't then you won't.

Janis Joplin has that amazing gritty voice. RIP

I imagine I would have never gone out of my way to find this, but this is some real solid psychedelic rock. Piece of My Heart is the standout track and a solid 5/5.

Kind of boring though Piece of My Heart is always amazing.

Бомба. В основном благодаря вокалу Джоплин

Blues and rock n roll, can't ask for much more! Joplin's voice is not for me but I can respect this incredible album and her performance. 7/10

Janis es increíble

Carino

ayo pretty FUCKING good, piece of my heart is one Ive heard before, seems like a pretty influential piece of work

My last blues rock experience wasn't that great (sorry Rolling Stones) so I went into this album somewhat timidly. I am BLOWN AWAY. Joplin's voice is perfectly suited to this music, and there are times when this rocks harder than any Zeppelin album. It's fucking awesome! I love the audience noises to fool people into thinking it's a live album hahaha

Take another little piece of my heart oh babyyy

it's just not for meeeeeee

First half was forgettable. Second half was actuslly pretty decent. No one cna deny she's got a unique voice.

3.5/5, but could see this moving up.

Janis’ performance is the only thing that really elevates this album beyond the standard blues infused psych of the day, and even that isn’t enough to make this anything but mid. Piece of my heart is an iconic song but overall not particularly interesting.

I am not a fan of this. The exaltation of Janis Joplin has always felt like it was borne of "let's not speak ill of the dead" vibes. But the band is not really doing anything interesting, and I just don't find Janis to be a particularly interesting vocalist.

great LP, I love janis joplin's voice and it feels like I went back in time to 1968

I'll die for you janis. i would give years of my life for her

Janis Joplin ist so Taff.. ich wünschte ich wäre so Taff aber wahrscheinlich würde ich dann Heroin nehmen. Die Band auch ganz nice so

Not exaclty my thing but still very cool. Piece of My Heart rips. RYM: N Saved a song: Y

Muy bueno. Siempre me lo cruzaba y nunca me puse a escucharlo. Blues hermoso, con Joplin a pleno. 6/10

I like Janis, but I mostly just found this painful to listen to. 2/5

Buenísimo y lleno de clásicos

me gusta pero tremendo mehh, como q esta super bien hecho, me gustan las guitarras y las baterias, pero amo la voz de la kbra. nose, le falto algo

Friday, 19 June, 2026 Juneteenth! This album is good, and fine. The band is very skilled. They just don’t stand out as unique. Of course Janice Joplin stands out! The recording of “Piece of my Heart” is my favorite of hers.

Never heard of them. turns out it's Janis Joplin. OK, great singer, decent blues. Old as fuck. Bit of a snore.

this would probably go so hard if I was high out of my mind

Mas que una lección de Musical es la apreciación de la voz y el sentir de la vocalista, se agradecen los giros musicales y cambios tanto de ritmo como tonales. hacen de la música, música viva no como la momentaneidad de hoy en día

Interesting to hear a female main vocalist in a rock band from the 60s. Decent listen.

This is a solid album, and Janis Joplin's vocals kick ass. Turtle Blues is probably the song I enjoyed the most, but I don't think anything here was bad. The "fake live" thing was kind of annoying, but at least it means it didn't have any of the issues a real live album usually has. Cover art is 10/10.

Fine. I'm quite new into these albums and it seems my taste is too modern.

Confused that I didn't like this more than I did, since Janis's voice is perfect to me. I gave her album Pearl a five, but there were a lot of moments I felt lost here. One of the many albums I wonder if might turn into a five with more listening, though I also wonder if perhaps I was too enthusiastic about Pearl.

Es ist ein raues, ungeschöntes Dokument der späten Hippie‑Ära: viel Energie, viel Chaos, viel Janis Joplin. Die Platte lebt von ihrer unmittelbaren Live‑Attitüde, auch wenn sie größtenteils im Studio entstand. Joplin trägt das Album praktisch allein – ihre Stimme brennt, kratzt, fleht, besonders in „Piece of My Heart“ und „Ball and Chain“.

Of course I knew and appreciated Janis Jopling from a pretty young age, but went deep with this album a few years ago, and wow is it ever good.

Janis has some pipes doesn't she?

I like Janis' voice fine, but "Piece of my Heart" aside, there's just not too much here to care about. A bit too much blues, not enough psychedelia, and they're not doing much to change my view that Jefferson Airplane is the only San Francisco band worth caring about.

Liked this one!