This wonderful, five-disc set includes all the Janis basics; her two albums with Big Brother & the Holding Co (Self-titled and Cheap Thrills), her first solo album with the Kozmic Blues Band (I Got Dem Old Kozmic Blues Again, Mama!), her final studio album with her Full Tilt Boogie Band (Pearl), and a disc of rare, never-before-released tracks (Rare Pearls). All of it is amazing material, in my opinion, from the tamer earlier Big Brother tracks, to the screeching guitars and screaming vocals found on Cheap Thrills, to the soulful blues of Janis's first solo album, to the vocal masterpieces that make up Janis's last album.
I would recommend this set to...well, anyone...but I would most recommend it to just-starting-out Janis fans; this set has, like I said, all the basics, then, if you're just dying to get ahold of every single track she ever recorded (like I am!), there are a lot - A LOT - of Janis "Best of" compilations that each have different live versions of songs, so you can hunt through those and buy single mp3s on itunes or Amazon, then there's Live at Winterland with Big Brother, and finally Farewell Song is a great Janis compilation that's sort of a ragtag collection of rare songs/versions of songs. Also, the three-disc set called "Janis" has a lot of great earlier material as well as her birthday message for John Lennon. And lastly, I would highly recommend going to YouTube and looking up "young Janis Joplin," because there are a bunch of incredible recordings of Janis singing real gritty bluegrass, folk, and blues. ("No Reason for Livin'" is my favorite -- look it up!)
At the end of "Bo Diddley" on Rare Pearls, keep listening on because there's a snippet of Janis talking about a particularly good London concert. And we get to hear her laugh! Isn't that the icing on the cake or what. Buy this collection, end of story.
Wow. What can I say? This is a great box set. It covers all of Janis's career from Big Brother to The Kozmic Blues Band to The full tilt boogie band. Plus all of the extra songs are amazing on here as well. The booklet is informative for people just getting into Janis, but redundant for the rest of us. I would recommend this to anyone who either loves Janis, or just wants to get a full perspective of her.
This is the best Joplin compilation out there. Love each record and the bonus EP. Janis will forever be the queen of rock and roll and every music collection needs this set.
"For those are really Janis' fan"
2009-03-21
- Reviewed By An Amazon User
Great! It's a vintage box covering a career from one of main female singers. I recomend.
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"For those are really Janis' fan"