1001 Albums Summary

Janis Joplin's vocal is so ridiculously powerful. There's a great soul / rythm and blues feel to it, whilst still being guitar-forward a lot of the time. The use of crowd noise like this is something I've never heard on a studio album before. It gives the record a different energy entirely and paints a picture of a smoky late 60s / early 70s live show in my head. Really like the version of 'Summertime' on this — although the album artwork depicting this track has aged like milk. Same goes for 'Little Piece of My Heart' — which might be the only track I'd previously heard from this recording, although not knowingly. As the album goes on, the guitar starts to feel more and more self indulgent. The shredding has its place for sure, but this record is at it's best when it's kept simple. The whole record has got a great groove to it. Two live tracks at the end of the version I was listening to, which prove that the free and easy studio recording captured their live sound really well.

The first track has almost got a hip-hop beat. Super soulful off the bat and a powerful message on Run Charlie Run. Some really nice instrumentation and great vocals throughout. The version of Papa Is a Rollin' Stone is a classic, but there also feels like there's a lot of filler on here. It's great-sounding filler, but it still feels a bit like filler.