18 Essential Songs

Janis Joplin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 24, 1995)
• Original Release Date: January 31, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002B1A
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,828 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A slightly flawed collection drawn from the three-CD box set Janis, this still isn't a bad introduction to Haight-Ashbury's favorite blues shrieker. Skimming Cheap Thrills, Kosmic Blues, and Pearl, the disc catches some of Joplin's most stunning moments. In acknowledging the "rarities" aspect of the box, however, Essential occasionally goes wrong; the acoustic demo version of "Me and Bobby McGee" is incredibly touching, but a strange choice if there's room for only one. The must-have version remains the full-blown take heard on Pearl and Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits. That there's enough interest in Janis remaining to justify a set like this one is heartening, though. --Rickey Wright

Product Description

First they went platinum...Now they're going green. Your best loved music in its simplest form. 20 best-selling "Greatest Hits" & "Best of" collections now available in a new eco-friendly package. 1CD in card wallet packaging - no plastic, no booklet - just great music! Booklets are available online through a unique URL on the package. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential but not definitive, June 16, 2002

By 

Karen Anderson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 18 Essential Songs (Audio CD)

So far, no one has been able to put together the definitive collection of Janis tracks. Which means you need to buy all the CDs, including "Farewell Song" and "Live at Winterland '68" and create your own definitive collection.

This collection misses the mark on several crucial points, but is still better than the Greatest Hits album, mainly because it features the legendary Saturday afternoon recording of Ball and Chain at the Monterey Pop Festival, the moment that launched Janis into super stardom, with Mama Cass watching in awe. (The Greatest Hits album features the inferior Full Tilt version of Ball and Chain. The one we see on film was recorded the second night at Monterey, where Janis is wearing a gold lame pantsuit.)

All of the tracks on 18 Essentials were culled from the 3CD box set, thus some are not definitive, rather alternate. Such is the case with "Summertime." I've always felt that the bootleg live in Amsterdam version is the absolute best on record, but at the very least there are better "Summertime" tracks from the Cheap Thrills recording sessions than this one. I was also dismayed by the omission of "Cry Baby," the second-best charting single from the Pearl album. Granted, the alternate take of "Cry Baby" featured on the boxed set is not the same as on Pearl, but to me it is a great cut none-the-less and should have been included in lieu of "Trust Me," which doesn't showcase Janis at her best.

Also, no where to be found is "Little Girl Blue" from the Kozmic Blues album. This was Janis's favorite of all her recorded tracks, and should have been included because it is, in a word, ESSENTIAL. I personally like the inclusion of the acoustic demo of Bobby McGee in this collection. However, it would have made more sense to have kept her introductory rap captured in the studio, which can be heard on the boxed set and is fascinating---with Janis playing the guitar herself and creating the blueprint for this great song.

"Trouble in Mind" is a good way to start the collection. Janis sounds awesome here, and the typewriter in the background is just so cool, it takes you right into the living room where this gem was recorded with Jorma K of the Jefferson Airplane. I'm also glad they featured more cuts from the Kozmic Blues album on this collection, as opposed to the Greatest Hits album that virtually ignored Kozmic Blues, even though it was Janis at her best, vocally.

Also, on my CD, the Ed Sullivan version of "Raise Your Hand" is very distorted soundwise, which is not the case on "Farewell Song" where this live song is also featured.

In any event, it is hard for me to give Janis anything less than five stars. But because of the missing ingredients in relation to the title ("essential") of the CD, I give the record company four stars.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best compilation for beginning fans, December 1, 1999

By 

"caseyscott" - See all my reviews

This review is from: 18 Essential Songs (Audio CD)

While many people found this mediocre because of its exclusion of the original version of "Bobby McGee", they need to understand that this CD was made especially for those who were looking for something else besides that song. For those people who have heard her classic #1 song and wondered what else there is. And there certainly is PLENTY more, as evidenced by the extent of her fabulous work on every album released by her. This goes through every phase of her musical career briefly and to the point (but I do wonder why her best song ever "Little Girl Blue" isn't here?). Yes, it is essentially a sampler from the JANIS 3-CD set, but would you really want to buy an expensive set just to find that you don't like Janis as much as you thought you did? This is a great way out of that predicament and is a LOT better than the supposed GREATEST HITS, despite its re-release with bonus tracks. If you're looking to get into Janis, try this (if you want the full spectrum of her career) or KOZMIC BLUES (to get her best album).

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a good choice for ANY Janis listener, June 17, 2006

By 

Bruce in Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 18 Essential Songs (Audio CD)

The one-star rating is not a commentary on Janis Joplin's music. It is a commentary on the record label's curious selection of tracks for this album, and the questionable decision to call this eclectic collection of songs "essential". This album is NOT essential, neither for the casual listener who just wants a good selection of songs from Janis' primary albums, nor for the dedicated fan who wants previously unissued material to supplement other Janis CDs.

The tracks on this CD are a mixture of previously unissued material and of the formal studio recordings (or sometimes the live performances) that appear on her previous primary CDs. A classic example of the former: the version here of "Me and Bobby McGee" -- her one number one hit -- is not the traditional version that appears on her "Pearl" album, but rather, is a previously unissued solo demo prepared for the album's producer.

So if you just want a 'traditional' overview of Janis Joplin's music, the "Greatest Hits" album is probably your best bet. If you're a dedicated fan -- who WANTS the solo demo of "Bobby McGee" or the track of "Trouble in Mind" recorded in an apartment with a typewriter clacking in the background -- you might look at the 3-disc 49-track "Janis" album from which the tracks on the current CD were culled. Alternatively, if you just want to supplement an already largely complete collection with the previously unissued tracks, they're all available for download.

But it's hard for me to imagine WHO the audience would be for the curious collection of tracks on the "18 Essential Songs" album.