Janis Joplin Pearl: Legacy Edition CD

Janis Joplin's PEARL, from 1971, is a bluesy, organ-drenched benediction for the flower-child sound of the free-and-easy 60's. It is also one of great singer's most consistent and representative efforts. Gone are the ear-shattering sonics of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Full Tilt Boogie, the backing band here, steps in to offer a degree of polish and control that frames Joplin's vocals nicely. Yet the band still grooves hard with the fierceness her voice demands. Guitarist John Till's riffs, chords, and solos, in particular, are exciting and tightly executed.

"A Woman Left Lonely" and Bobby Womack's "Trust Me" are rain-on-the-windows ballads that come alive with Joplin's gritty vocal brilliance, while the burbling "Move Over" and "Half Moon" are among her funkiest, most driving cuts. The dramatic "Cry Baby" is offset by the tongue-in-cheek a cappella number "Mercedes Benz," while Joplin's version of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" went on to become her signature song. Joplin died during the sessions for PEARL, making these tracks the final word on her towering talent and a superb addition to her enduring legacy.

After the live Cheap Thrills, Pearl is undeniably Janis Joplin's studio classic, and her final recording, released posthumously. She departed the earth at the very top of her game creatively. The album was recorded with a less-is-more approach -- the explosive horn section so prevalent on Kozmic Blues was replaced by a rootsier, more organic studio group called the Full Tilt Boogie Band, with precious few guests in a minimal number of places. The album cooks from the opener, "Move Over," with John Till's jagged, knife-edge guitar playing the lyric line in duet with Joplin and Ken Pearson's choogling Hammond B-3 stomping on the chorus and the bridge. The emotional intensity actually gets upped on "Cry Baby," where Pearson's organ drives the track, raucously and passionately augmented by Till and Richard Bell's soul cum honky tonk piano. The thing is, the album just doesn't quit from "A Woman Left Lonely" to "Buried Alive in the Blues" to "My Baby" and the closer, "Get It While You Can." The fact that Pearl's most famous cuts, "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Mercedes Benz," are both here as well and were issued as the album's singles is simply astonishing given they are far form its strongest cuts. On the double-disc Legacy Edition of Pearl, some changes were made from earlier CD versions of the album. For starters, the bonus live tracks included on the 1999 version have been relegated to disc two. In their place, six cuts have been added, including three cuts taken from the Love, Janis box set: the demo of "Me and Bobby McGee," an alternate of "Cry Baby," and "Happy Birthday John (Happy Trails)." But there's more: three unissued alternate takes of "Move Over," "My Baby," and Full Tilt Boogie's instrumental tribute to Joplin called "Pearl." Disc two contains 13 live cuts taken from three different concerts on the Canadian Festival Express tour, recorded between June 28 and July 4, 1970. In addition to the bonus tracks moved from the original CD version of Pearl and others taken from Janis Joplin in Concert and Farewell Song are six more unreleased

2 LPs on 1 CD: GOLDEN HIGHLIGHTS (1988)/PEARL (1970).

Personnel: Janis Joplin (vocals); Janis Joplin (acoustic guitar); Pearl (acoustic guitar); Brad Campbell (bass guitar); Clark Pierson (drums); Bobbye Hall (congas, bongos); John Cooke, Vince Mitchell, Phil Badella (background vocals); John Till (guitar); Bobby Womack (acoustic guitar); Richard Bell (piano); Ken Pearson (organ); Sandra Crouch (tambourine).

Audio Mixer: Chris Theis.

Liner Note Author: John Byrne Cooke.

Recording information: Calgary, Alberta, Canada (06/28/1970-10/10/1970); Toronto, Canada (06/28/1970-10/10/1970); Winnipeg, Canada (06/28/1970-10/10/1970).

Photographers: Daniel Kramer; David Gahr; Tony Lane; Tom Wilkes; Steve Banks; Neal Preston; Yoram Kahana; Barry Feinstein; Lisa Law.Rolling Stone (10/31/02, p.135) - Ranked #7 in Rolling Stone's "Women In Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" - "...Joplin helped invent modern country rock..."
Rolling Stone (2/18/71, p.48) - "...The voice cut off was clearly in its prime...there is every indication that Janis was working toward a new maturity and confidence....With PEARL it's a case of a conscious attempt to make something of Janis' talent; simply having it won't do anymore..."
Rolling Stone (9/30/99, p.90) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...a poignancy that is as undeniable now as it was upon its posthumous release....'Me and Bobby McGee' is her greatest studio recording....frightening beauty..."
Q (11/99, p.156) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...her most fully formed [album]. Joplin was working with excellent musicians who raised her game accordingly....her voice has a new control and fluidity..."
Uncut (p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 - "PEARL was Joplin's most mature and diverse collection and suggested there was no limit to where she might have taken that extraordinary voice."
Dirty Linen (p.55) - "[A]n instant classic, featuring some of Joplin's most mature and well-played material..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.122) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[With] tight, Stax-influenced arrangements."