Cheap Thrills

Let’s start with the good. Janis Joplin blazed a trail as one of the very few women in the 60s fronting a band and she brings a very powerful voice to this album, full of raw emotion and cracking in places. As well as a couple of original tracks, her versions of Summertime by George Gershwin and Another Piece of My Heart are genuine classics. The bad is the bait and switch with this album posing as a live recording. Only one of the tracks was actually live (at least on the original release) with the rest featuring recorded audience noises played in. To be fair, the recording does have a raw, live feel that captures the energy of a top notch rock band, but it feels a little bit of a cheat all the same. The ugly is the cover art by Robert Crumb, which features crude racist and sexist stereotypes of the worst sort. Apparently Crumb claimed later that he was satirizing those attitudes and that his audience would have understood the context, but it really leaves a sour taste even after all this time. The final tragedy is that just two years after this record, Joplin joined the pantheon of dead rock stars, dying from a heroin overdose at the age of just 27. What a waste.

(4/5) Bluesy, dirty late-60s rock of the finest kind. It is lofi charming and I like Janis' gravely, used up voice. There's pain and depth in it that hits you in all the right places. "Piece of My Heart" was well known to me, I particularly loved "Turtle Blues", and "Summertime" & "I Need a Man.." were good as well. What I guess I never paid attention to was that she fronted this band before going solo.

Why do I like this album so much less than I thought I would? Is it the incredibly shitty production, the derivative compositions, or Janis Joplin's still maturing vocals? I had her solo greatest hits (or one of her many compilation albums) that I dug for a while, but it just isn't translating to this. Currently a 2.5 that I'll round up just because of significance and legacy. Love the R. Crumb album cover, though.

This album flirted with a five for me. I enjoyed the dirty under produced bluesy rock and Janis Joplin’s gravely vocals convey a sense of hurt that pairs well with the music. “Piece of My Heart” is an all-timer, and I quite enjoyed “I Need A Man to Love” as well as the Porgy & Bess cover, “Summertime.” That’s been a favorite of mine for a long time and I always appreciate a good version of that. This one fit the bill. A second listen couldn’t confirm the jump to five, but i enjoyed listening again one more time. Maybe it’ll get there. 4/5

The only song I was familiar with on this album is "Piece of My Heart", and I honestly thought it was just a Janis Joplin song and didn't realize it was when she was with a band. The album is actually the second and last album the band recorded before Janis went solo. It's a bit odd because the producer incorporated recordings of crowd noises to make it seem like a live album, but it's actually all recorded in the studio. You have to give kudos to Janis and her voice, but this album is a bit rough. The production is rough and Janis' voice is not quite where it would ultimately end up being on some of her best stuff. Solid album and no problem listening to it, but not extraordinary in any way in my opinion.

Janis Joplin forever! Perfect album.

Blues-y woozy rock which didn't do it for me. Didn't like Jane's Joplin's voice particularly. Band were tight.

The music is of four, but her voice grates on my every last nerve. So I'll give it a solid three.

I’ve heard this before. This is in my dad’s record collection, he didn’t listen to it much when I was growing up but I dig through and found this in high school and listened to it a lot one summer. I don’t think I’ve heard it since high school, not even in college on one of my hippy friends’ stereos. Or maybe I did and the memory is clouded in bong resin. Janis sings great but my throat gets sympathy pains when I hear it, like I want her to grab a halls or a ricola. Lots of good psychedelic heavy blues on here but there are some of the deep cuts that break out of the standard blues structure and have some interesting rhythms on the drums that are pretty cool and give the album some nice variety. The streaming version I found had 4 bonus tracks, two live and two outtakes from the studio sessions that were really good and different and I’m kind of surprised they were left off the official release - probably due to time issues to fit them on the record. Anyway it’s a great album.

So much raw power here. Equal parts blues and psychedelic. And she had such an incredible voice. I just say, some parts had me checking my watch.

Excellent album! Summertime 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Me parece un álbum con muchísima personalidad De verdad que Janis está a otro nivel, que talento tan especial posee, simplemente es magnética Los riffs de guitarra más esa voz tan característica hacen que el álbum de principio a fin sea un lujo poder abordarlo Hay momentos muy movidos, otros momentos más tranquilos y orientados al blues, pero todo resulta muy cohesivo Me parece que es una combinación de momentos en vivo y otros de estudio pero en general todo de igual forma se amarra sumamente bien, se hace percibir que el álbum se produjo de una forma muy orgánica Me siento en el llamada de volver a el de vez en cuando y definitivamente lo recomiendo Es un álbum 5 para mi

Easy 5/5.

I get why it was a thing, but it still feels very dated

Ikke for meg. Blir litt for sært og jeg ser heller ikke at fette er et veldig bra album

No album has better earned its accolades than this album earns the title of "163rd best album of the 1960s", by Pitchfork

This is #day801 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... here's to some excellent late '60s psychedelic blues/rock. Sometimes there's just nothing better than hearing Janis rip "Summertime" through October air. The whole record is a sonic document of its time and a pleasure to listen to. I've nothing else to add, aside from: bring me that psychedelic late '60s shit anytime. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day802.

Probablement le cover d'album le plus connu de Robert Crumb.

Voix incroyable, qui me fait beaucoup penser aux voix souls de la décennie qui l'a précédée, mais appliquée au rock. Du bon blues rock par moment en arrière, ou acid rock ou psyché rock. Un mixing vraiment impressionnant qui donne l'impression que c'est live. Ce n'est pas un style que j'écouterais à répétition mais j'ai comme pas le choix de donner 5 vu le statut légendaire de l'album et de la qualité du musicianship!

Oh hell yeah Janis lfg Top bops: Combination of the two Summertime Piece of my heart Oh sweet Mary Ball and chain

Great bit of late 60s acid rock, guess without saying about Joplin's voice, but the backing group are outstanding as well. Good sleeve too!

Janis is a force. Today I learned she had been with a band though!

Pretty good, although it is only notable for featuring Janis Joplin on vocals. Joplin is obviously great, but I am still torn on this version of "Summertime". I've seen a lot of praise on it but I'm not entirely convinced. I do like the funny number 2 on the cover though. Key tracks: Piece of My Heart

One thing you have to say about Janis Joplin is that she never held anything back. Those vocals are dialed up to the max on every track here.

Before I listened to this album, I of course knew “Piece of My Heart,” but I was unprepared for how raw and bluesy the album was. Janis Joplin sings like her soul is being ripped from her body. Her throat is raw from the pain she’s letting out. It’s really dramatic and really moving. On the songs where she sings about being desperately lonely, I believe her. Before this, if a teen girl in my life were going through a breakup, I’d have suggested wallowing with Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo. But Janis would be there for her too, expressing the pain of missing someone or just yearning to be loved. Favorite songs: Piece of my Heart I Need a Man to Love Turtle Blues (I was shocked to see that she wrote this one herself. It sounds like an old blues standard. So well done.)

Every song sounds the same Saved summertime because I know the song Not my style at all

Meh, not bad at first but too much of the same to my liking

Listens like a greatest hits of Joni. Absurd I've never listened to this before, having crossed it's path a million times.

Great

This was great, and I can only imagine how incredible it must have been live: It has that blues guitar thing that sounds roughly 600x better live than recorded. I think I liked Pearl (JJ's other album on here) a tiny bit more, but it's a coin-toss, and they're both easy 5-stars.

Hot take o don’t enjoy Janis’ voice

Marge Simpson Piece of My Heart

Mar kifejtettem a csetben.

7/10, érdemes meghallgatni. Summertime-ban tasty ups and downs és gitár szóló, I love that one. Piece of my heart egy masterpiece.

Erős gitartemak, brutal ének, de a saját számok kevésbé adják, mint a coverek. Marge Simpsont már nem tudom nem látni. Saját számok közül Oh sweet Mary, amúgy Piece of my Heart és Ball and Chain.

Joplin hangja persze eros. A szamok azert nem annyira, a feldolgozasok hoznak rajta. 6.5/10 A gitarszolos resz nem rossz az Oh, Sweet Maryben, meg az a szam amugy rendben van. Fav: Piece of my heart, Oh, sweet Mary, Ball and Chain (elso 6 perc)

Another of those ‘if that famous songs wasn’t on this album, it wouldn’t be in the list’ albums. It passes by but the rest is in the shadow of Piece of my Heart. She had a great voice.

A couple of good tracks

1 or 2 songs were a bit frantic but overall you can't go wrong with Janice Joplin

This was great! I didnt know about it at all! Really enjoyed it. Would have liked to hear a full live performance instead of the odd fake live show stuff, but it didnt really matter.

Great!

p142. 1968. 3 stars. I suspect this is on the list more for what Janis brought to table - proof that a white woman could sing blues. Sure, there had been others beforehand - Brenda Lee and even Lulu - but they'd always been reined in. Sometimes it's overwrought, but when it's good it's brilliant. It's just a shame she'd let down by an average band and the choice of material.

I always though Janis Joplin had a horrible voice but turns out I had just misunderstood her. She was amazing.

Starts off pretty bad, but improves when Janis Joplin starts singing. Honestly, though, if you want "blues rock", you can do a lot better than this. There's a lot of messy guitar and instrumentation all around, and most of the songs here don't even come close to "Piece of My Heart".

El sonido del 68…lo mejor son las caricaturas de crumb

Solid album. Three great songs (Summertime, Piece of My Heart, Ball and Chain), and the rest is perfectly serviceable. Janis was a one of a kind.

There's a couple solid tracks (Combination of the Two, besides Piece of My Heart, stands out to me) but it sounds a little too messy for my liking. It's not even a live album! That's just what they sounded like!

Eh, its alright. I like the guitar and less the vocals

Something about this didn't hit for me. Feels unpolished in an unenjoyable way. Rating: 2

Joyful and full of life, its only flaw really is the weird canned applause designed to make it sound like a live album. There is a stark contrast once we get to 'Ball and Chain', which is actually - and obviously - a live performance. You can't ignore the fact that this is all about the voice, but if you can tune out Janis Joplin's extraordinary performance, there's a great,. muscular band behind her, and it's a great shame they never really developed what was going on here.

Janis Joplin's got some pipe, eh?

Janis Joplins voice is spectacular and the albums is so raw and energetic. Love this, will def be listening to this again

Ok, Not really my stile didnt hate it though

It’s rock and roll. Hippie music. Nope

Some guitar riffs were cool

226. Cheap Thrills - Big Brother & The Holding Company (1968) 10.6.26 Variety: 2 Adequacy: 2 Listenability: 2 Uniqueness: 3 Emotionality: 5 = 2.8 rounded up to a 3 "Baby, looking out at the rain/ Something came along, grabbed a hold of me/ And it felt just like a ball and chain" Janis Joplin is one of those larger than life musical personalities that I grew up hearing a ton of on classic rock format radio stations, and in movies, and tv. She was so iconic my the mid to late 80s that you would see kids dressed up as her for Halloween. That's rare air, even amongst big entertainment personalities. She broke a lot of ground for female artists I think with sales numbers, and she died early leaving behind a pretty mythologized story, short as it was. And I did not care for it. I mean, I could see the appeal in a few tracls - especially "Piece of My Heart", but stuff like "Mercedes Benz" and "Me and Bobby McGee" just seemed silly and like some unreal parody of what hippy music must have been like. I found her voice to be grating and just not my thing. It wasn't til much later that I ever heard any of her bluesier deep cuts, which I thought were WAY better than many of her big hits, and showed a much more subtle and nuanced version of what she could do vocally. This album I heard once all the way through I think and realized it was not for me. And that was sometime in high school. I even found the Robert Crumb cover art to be obnoxious. And I still do, despite appreciated his skill more nowadays. I don't have much hope for this one, but maybe my tastes have changed enough to give it little more grace. THE TRACKS Side one "Combination of the Two" - This was hard to get through. The fake audience stuff was not even done well. Maybe it was meant to be funny? This is the type of sloppily played boring thing that only an acid casualty could find interesting in any way. It's less a song, and more opening warm up music that makes me imagine the band all appearing one by one while poor Janis introduces them and reads out announcements before the actual show starts. "I Need a Man to Love" - Better. This at least sounds like something you might hear from some shitty dive bar band. Janis gets to deliver the goods, but backing boys don't really do her any favors. The production is muddy and the guitar tone makes it sound like the lead player was recorded separately in a dungeon underneath a lake. When Janis gets really loud she must have surpassed the levels of whatever equipment they were using and ends up sounding like Dave Davies's sliced up amp effect on the more blown out parts of "You Really Got Me". At least it was a song. "Summertime" - Even better. This time we have a simple arrangement that puts the entire focus ( aside from the lead guitarist running scales or whatever the shit he's doing - just keep it bluesy, dude...) on Joplin's vocal performance. As more proof of how terrible the production is on this though, they can't even handle Joplin's voice when she's at a relatively low whispery register. I have my problems with it, but it's many steps up from those first two. It's still a billion miles away from touching the Billie Holiday version though, as unfair a comparison as that may be. "Piece of My Heart" - Here we go. As perfect as it's going to get on this album I think. The production is still ass, as it sounds like Joplin is standing a mile away from the mic. But she still sounds great, and the ragged emotional quality that many have imitated comes through completely and fully. I do wish the band would have shut the fuck up though with their awful backing vocals. It's still not enough to mess things up though, and Joplin does most of the work on this one performance of keeping this album out of the garbage can. Side two "Turtle Blues" - Why couldn't we have a whole album of just this? Joplin's voice is BUILT for the blues, and it's obviously her biggest influence and love, so the psychedelic blues rock junk seems like slumming it compared to this. The bar noises were almost as obnoxious as that Crumb album art, but once again couldn't ruin the song, as Joplin's voice is SO on point it easily wipes away any of the blemishes. This is also my favorite register for her to sing at. The guitarist even works well here. But the piano works better. "Oh, Sweet Mary" - This really felt like a case of the band wanting a little something for themselves. I'm sorry Sam Andrews but your sub-Blue Cheer nonsense did not work here. Maybe this was a good spot in live shows for Joplin to go take a piss or gargle some salt water or something. It's the sort of boring noodly ass, unimpressive "I wish we were 1/8th as good as Cream" bullshit that I imagine must have been coming out of thousands of garages across the country at the time. The surf beat drumming was ok though. "Ball and Chain" - We at least end on a high note with a cover of a Big Mama Thornton classic. Janis kills it here, just more evidence that she should have been doing mainly this sort of thing. The emoting Joplin does on this is up there with the greats. Except for the out size influence and undeniability of "Piece of My Heart", this is easily the best (and my favorite) track on the album, with even a solid performance form the band. HIGHLIGHTS - "Piece of My Heart" - "Turtle Blues" - "Ball and Chain" MIDLIGHTS - "Summertime" LOWLIGHTS - "Combination of the Two" - "I Need a Man to Love" - "Oh, Sweet Mary" FINAL THOUGHTS So far in the list we've had more than a few albums live albums that have been "sweetened" with tricks to add faux crowd noise and the like, but I think this might be the first fully studio album that's had that stuff added in after the fact? My general dislike of live albums is something I've had to contend with in listening to these, and this is maybe even worse. There was SO MUCH distracting shit, like the bar noises in "Turtle Blues" that just kept adding up. That's strike one. Strike number two is that hippie shit really gets on my nerves. The whole peace and love schtick, along with the lifestyle that comes with it just strike me as the worst kind of sad, teenage rebellion, and while I'm sure there were people who legitimately believed they were affecting some sort of change, I think for the most part the scene was quickly overtaken by scheming, trashy dudes who figured out it would be a paradise of easy drugs and naive young women and for them to exploit. Janis I think was a clear casualty of this. Not to discount her own agency, but her mental issues were in no way helped by exposure to creeps around her who enabled the addiction and basked in her star power. Which she clearly had. By all accounts she was a magnetic stage personality and, like it or not, had a powerful voice. I mentioned before that I was never a big fan of her growing up, and found her voice to be too rough for me. Over the years, having been exposed to a lot more types of vocalists, and coming to appreciate more diverse genres, I've softened on that. Enough so that I think she is legit great... given the right material. I think the fake live stuff added to this was more an excuse to cover up the shitty production which did Joplin dirty. There's a general fuzziness to a lot of albums from this era, and sure the studios were not what they are today, but this sounded dirty and gritty in all the wrong ways. Whenever she got really loud - which happened a lot on this - the register was clearly not something the equipment could handle and at the top ends her voice gets WAY more distorted and ragged sounding as a result. I just can't believe that's a genuine representation of her voice, especially as I've heard much cleaner stuff later off her solo albums. So strike three for the piss poor production. There was still enough stuff on here to like though, and it's almost 100% Janis. On the bluesier numbers especially she shines and makes me wish she had been able to record a whole album of stuff like that. The more psychedelic, freak out numbers are by far the weakest and are made even weaker by the sloppy, not amazing band. The Big Brother guys were glorified session players on this, and unlike most session players, who pride themselves on professionalism, these guys were unimpressive. It's no wonder Joplin jumped ship at the first chance she got and traded up. I think the proof is in the pudding here when you look at what else these guys accomplished after she left, which is to say not much. All that said, Joplin is still not necessarily my cup of tea. She's a tragic figure, much mythologized, and I'd point you to an interview she did on the Dick Cavett show if you're interested in the person behind the music. She comes across as an almost shy, smart, nerdy woman who clearly has been through some shit in her life, and is charming as hell. As much as I like the personality though, she'll bever be one of my favorites. Still, any stars gained here are 100% due to her, and mainly via the few songs that use her talent well. Her solo album Pearl is on the list, and might fare better than this one, but I can't see her ever reaching up into the 4-star territory. Possible turn-Offs might include: - terrible production quality - faux live audio inserts that do their best to kill the mood and which are poorly integrated - raw, but vocals that might be a little too ragged and throaty for everyone's tastes You Might enjoy this if you: - like powerful, charismatic vocals - are into the whole late 60s blues rock vibe - aspire to be conversant in rock history PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Highlights only please. FURTHER LISTENING Precursors: - The Essential Bessie Smith by Bessie Smith - Stronger Than Dirt by Big Mama Thornton - Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues by Odetta - Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin - River Deep – Mountain High by Ike & Tina Turner Contemporaries: - Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane - Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Waiting for the Sun by The Doors - Vincebus Eruptum by Blue Cheer - In Search of the Lost Chord by The Moody Blues Descendants: - Give It Up by Bonnie Raitt - Dreamboat Annie by Heart - Melissa Etheridge by Melissa Etheridge - Living in the USA by Linda Ronstadt

some classics like 'Summertime' on this album, unforgetabble voice of Janis, but the music aged not that well

Yeah, not a bad listen.

Dull - I had to play a second time as when it finished I realised I had not been listening.

Sometimes her voice sounds great, sometimes grating. First two tracks are trash Summertime didn't quite hit Piece of my Heart is great Her voice sounds great on Turtle Blues Oh, Sweet Mary is a typical San Francisco acid rock jam. It's whatever Ball and Chain - a 9 minute bluesy noodle

Janis es la mejor. Los guitarristas son unos pesaos

It showed me twice

Janis’s voice cuts right to my soul.

Would be 5 stars if it wasn't for the fake live album noise.

Do I actually like their album if Janis is my favorite part? IDK

I didn't like it, it's a 60s white blues I don't enjoy, with Janis Joplin's vocals that while notable I have never liked it's iconic is powerful it's unique but it's not enjoyable for me to listen too.

Bien.

I really don't like Janis Joplin's voice, and the jam session in the background doesn't help either.

Janis Joplins sangstemme kunne lige så godt være Marge Simpsons. Hun lyder, som om hendes kost består af cigaretter og whisky, og det er ret fedt. Men det kan ikke redde albummet fra bare at være en masse 60'er rock-nonsens

actually pretty nice

3.5 Joplin has such a unique voice, solid album

i didn't know janis joplin was like that

Banger of an album. Janis Joplin's voice is one of the best to ever bless the world. Not much notes, it just boils down to being good music in line with my tastes. Piece of My Heart is my fav song of the album. Ball and Chain (my fav first listen) and Summertime were my other highlights

Tough one because the band are great but Joplin's voice is awful. Is it really so bad to point this out?

Ah yeah. This is a "they don't make music like this any more"

Ein für das Alter erstaunlich gutes Rockalbum. Die tolle Stimme von Janis gepaart mit solidem Rock. 4/5

It sounds like the album cover looks. Love Janice Joplin's vocals. There are some problems, maybe its just baked in from the original studio recordings or maybe spotify fucked something up, but some of the songs on here sound almost digitally distorted, and it doesn't really sound intentional. I thought my headphones were broken at points. The songs still have this great bluesy energy though.

ideal version of something i don't particularly like: the jammy, feral blues-rock group spending a record's runtime oh-yeah-ing and alright-now-ing their way into a slightly overbearing kind of transcendence. joplin's pliably feline vocals obviously the highlight here, and she is best served by Turtle Blues, where everyone gets the fuck out of her way for a few minutes. overall certainly convinced by the performances, not by the songs

A very surreal, evocative album w/ Joplin’s classic vocal flair; very cool stuff.

Great artwork, some good songs, not at all what I would have expected from Janis Joplin at first. I liked it but I won't go with it on a desert island.

Not as good as I thought it’d be. Maybe I’m not huge on Janis’ vocals.

I have never been interested in blues that feels like a hot uncomfortable day with someone who coughed too much as a child. I get what it is trying to do. I don't relate. I don't want to hear it.

So good!

Fun. Not my fave but enjoyable enough.

★★★★☆ I already knew I liked Janis Joplin, but I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. This is raw, loud, bluesy rock and Janis sounds incredible throughout. The whole album has this loose live feeling that really works for me. “Piece of My Heart” is obviously a classic, but the nine-minute “Ball and Chain” might have been my favorite part of the album. It never felt like it was dragging despite the length. This is exactly the kind of discovery I want from this challenge. By the second song I was already thinking I need this album on vinyl. **4 stars.**

I had no idea Janis did Summertime. Which is weird, since it is my favorite song. This is a sweet version. I haven't listened to Janis in a while. Man can she bring it. Turtle Blues is 🔥.

Some bangers in here, like summertime, piece of my heart, and ball and chain. Obviously Janis had a one in a million voice. But overall I’m not moved above a 3.

This is... Different. Very raw vocals that sometimes sound impressive, sometimes a bit grating on the ears. Enjoyed the musicality and the rock/blues sound. I don't think any of the tracks are "great" but it's overall an interesting listen. 3.5/5.

Live album with crowd noise that drags at times. Listening to Ball and Chain in its entirety has it living up to its name. I think it would have been better to be there than to listen to the recording.

Even though its not really my thing, it was a fun listen, especially to hear Janis in action

Screeching, howling, end of the 60s rock 'n' roll. Piece of My Heart rocks as you'd expect, but it's Ball and Chain that floats my boat the most here, mostly due to the tortured sounds coming out of the guitar, which match nicely with Janis's tortured vocals. The rest is all good, although not sure why the producer felt the need to add fake crowd noise to make it seem like a live album.

Well, at the very least I'm glad that we get more Janis Joplin in this collection than just the one solo album. And it's hard not to enjoy the over-the-top R. Crumb album cover, especially since he allegedly refused to be paid, saying "I don't want Columbia's filthy lucre." The music itself is...OK, I guess? But at least now I know who Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi wanted to sound like (or at least in the same zip code), and they did a pretty good job in many ways. I wish the production quality was substantially better, but I suspect they liked the *very* lo-fi sound with overblown vocals and amp hum and hiss, so I hope they liked how this album turned out. The highlights for me were "I need a man to love" and the radio classic cover "Piece of my heart", with a nod to the other two covers, the lone truly-live track track "Ball and chain" and the somewhat creative version of "Summertime". This would have been four stars if it sounded better, and if Joplin's backing artists didn't sound so much like a (high school) garage cover band trying to sound like Blue Oyster Cult.

Ball and Chain's my favorite.

Not really for me. A lot of the songs seemed largely the same, with the occasional hit.

Liked first half more than second

Powerful! I genuinely wish there was more. Fav Tracks: "Combination of the Two", "Piece of My Heart" and "Ball and Chain".

ABSURDO DE BOM!!!!

Bluesy but in a good way. Great singing. Nice mix of songs. Very surprised at how much i enjoyed this album based on my preconceived notions.

Какие-то охуевшие челы Все портит воющая собака Джоплин на фоне

Feel like I would enjoy this having been there in person than on an album. Everyone’s talented but probably only 1/2 the energy makes it to the album. The one that stood out to me is “Roadblock.” Still, it’s a good album and I can understand why people love it.