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intereact!Janis Joplin
Retail Price (not our price): $11.98
Release Date: 1999-08-31
Manufacturer: Sony
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...
| Disc 1 |
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com essential recording
More than Cheap Thrills or even Pearl, Greatest Hits has helped keep Janis Joplin's short-lived recording career alive for listeners who came along after her 1970 death. "Me and Bobby McGee" is the biggest draw, of course--it was a posthumous No. 1 single--but the rest is equally exciting. Despite the familiarity of the titles here, this goes far beyond the merely serviceable. Finally, the cover photo of Janis smiling in a sunny park is as poignant a shot of her as exists. --Rickey Wright
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
1) Her demise our loss [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Joplin's version of Gershwin's " Summertime " is arguably one of the best song's ever recorded. The rest of the album is very good. She was one of a kind.2) Super CD [Rating: 5 out of 5]
How can you not love Janis Joplin? This is a great CD. You won't regret buying it.3) NOT COMPLETE BUT ENCAPSULATES THE RADIO AIRPLAY TUNES [Rating: 5 out of 5]
An excellent collection, Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits features the radio tunes immortalized by the "white woman who could sing the blues", Janis Joplin. Included are the tracks Piece of My Heart, Mercedes Benz, Summertime, and the excellent Me and Bobby McGee, which would be Janis' only #1 hit and was, sadly enough, posthumously recorded as such.In this disc, Joplin's unique vocals are enough to convince one that Janis was and is a one-of-a-kind performer who cannot be equaled or imitated. To this day, no one has filmed an adequate biopic of Janis Joplin as played by someone else. In fact, that "played by someone else" will probably never occur since no one possessing similarities to what were Janis' physical traits has the matching dynamic voice.If you like this disc and want more of Janis, I suggest that you purchase Cheap Thrills (the album with the Robert Crumb-like comic book art on the cover) and Pearl, her very last release. Altogether, they will make a more complete collection than The Essential Janis Joplin, which, itself, consists of a very nice Janis repertoire.In one sense, Janis is no longer with us, and yet, considering the magnitude of her accomplishments in those brief 27 years, Janis will always be with us with a spirit that will live on!4) fine greatest hits album--as far as it goes, that is... [Rating: 4 out of 5]
During her all too short life, Janis Joplin made some pretty magnificent music. This CD, which has leftover space to be more comprehensive, gives us a good sampling of what magic Joplin could weave using her fine natural talents and abilities.The track set starts with her incredibly famous ballad, "Piece Of My Heart." The electric guitars amaze me with their sound; and Janis sings this with passion, all her heart and soul and a type of panache I rarely hear or enjoy. "Piece Of My Heart," a Janis Joplin masterpiece, gives us Joplin at her very best. She sings of her relationship with a man who doesn't treat her well; and the key changes as the band jams make this tune even better! The next Janis Joplin track, a cover of Gershwin's "Summertime," stuns you with its beauty. Janis delivers this with passion, heart and soul. "Summertime" uses a few guitar tricks of the day to give this fine number a 1960s type of spin; and this works very well. Janis's version of "Summertime" truly showcases her remarkable talent. "Me And Bobby McGee" lets Janis sing a country ballad about herself and her man. The guitars and percussion help the number along and Janis sings "Me And Bobby McGee," a thoughtful, pensive number about the freedom she and Bobby had as they traveled around the country. Although Bobby leaves his girl and moves on, Janis's character takes it in stride. I predict that you will enjoy "Me And Bobby McGee" very, very much."Get It While You Can" begins with some terrific piano; and Janis sings this gospel flavored song without a superfluous note! "Ball And Chain" gets the royal treatment as Janis wails and sings this number so well; the electric guitars add to the natural beauty of this ballad as well. Janis delivers "Ball And Chain" like the master she was with great sensitivity. We get two bonus tracks; and I think you'll like the one entitled "Mercedes Benz." Janis sings this a cappella with just a hand beating on her guitar. Janis uses this ballad to showcase the excessive materialism of today's society. Awesome!The liner notes give us a great essay by Jaan Uhelszki; and the fine artwork impresses me, too. We also get the song credits and recording dates for the songs on this CD.My only complaint is that they should have added at least an extra song or two to make this CD somewhat more comprehensive. The illustrious career of the great Janis Joplin cannot be condensed into a single CD with twelve tracks and a somewhat skimpy 47 minutes. This makes the CD very, very good but not great; and I have to take off one star for this disappointment.If you want to get to know just how wonderfully Janis could perform, you owe it to yourself to get this very good CD.Thank you, Janis! We miss you terribly!5) So Much Soul! [Rating: 5 out of 5]
While reading a new book on Rolling Stones Brian Jones I started to play this CD again. I hadn't heard it for awhile. It really struck me that, even though I love Brian and all his music, the Stones just don't have the pure passion and soul that "the Pearl" does (or did).She was definitely one of a kind and I miss her--raspy voice and all!