Big Brother and the Holding Company - "Cheap Thrills" (1968)

Just the cover designed by Robert Crumb makes this album worth buying. It was actually to be the back of the cover, with a portrait of Janis on the front, but she thought it was such a cool picture that it became the cover. From the start, the band had thought a photo of themselves naked in a bed would be the cover, but the label thought for some reason differently.

Janis, yes, this was her big break when she became Janis Joplin with the whole world. This was the band's second album together with her, and the last, as she later began her solo career. Already then most people felt that she was the big star, and that the band was merely a backing band for her. Many also complained that the band members' musical skills left some to be desired. In other words, everyone was only waiting for her to embark on her own adventures. But they were still a band when Cheap Thrills was released.

The album starts with Bill Graham introducing the band to an audience's noise. Sound from an audience is continued to be heard on the album, and many thought it was a live album. But it was not, it was only sound added to create a live atmosphere. The last song Ball and Chain is the only one recorded live. Rest of the album was recorded in a studio New York. This became one of 1968 year's best selling albums.

When I was younger I didn't like Janis. At that time I didn't know that she was actually a member of a band a time of her career, she was so dominant in the listening experience. I thought her voice was too hoarse. And I wasn't, and have never been, a blues man of rank. Today, I have changed my opinion on Janis. Today, I think her voice expresses so much emotion. A unique voice. But it's not always working for me. Sometimes her voice, together with the band, becomes too loud and noisy. My wife usually complains when the album is spinning on the stereo, since it is so loud, and she lets out a sigh of relief when it's over. The album is a full of (Janis') feelings, which requires some emotional involvement of the listener. To sing with the passion she does have to tear hard on the vocal cords and make you emotionally drained. At least it feels that way when you hear her. It's not as if she sings half committed.

The best songs I think are the covers, which are also the songs that became the biggest hits and therefore the most well known. Summertime, Piece of My Heart and Ball and Chain. It's good stuff, the other songs are OK, but not at the same level. The sound on the album is pretty unpolished and noisy, in general. Everyone probably don't like Janis' voice, and since it dominates the album one should probably like it to appreciate the record. I have, thanks to the maturity my age has given me, learned to like Janis. I saw a documentary about her a few weeks ago. A tragic life story of a girl who suffered a lot from the surroundings. She got to be 27 years old before she died in her hotel room in 1970.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Combination of the Two 5:47
2. I Need a Man to Love 4:54
3. Summer Time 4:01
4. Piece of My Heart 4:15

Side B
1. Turtle Blues 4:22
2. Oh, SweetMary 4:16
3. Ball and Chain 9:02