18 Essential Songs

Janis Joplin

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 (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,347 in Music (See Bestsellers 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 the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 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

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" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews

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).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent, powerful survey of Janis, live and in studio, January 15, 1999

By	P. Coltrin "book biter" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I was first turned on to Janis a few years ago, I bought this CD, not knowing a single one of her songs (call it a deprived childhood). In no time I was one of her most loyal (not to mention youngest) fans. Everything on it is vintage, though surely it was tough to exclude much of the material from the boxed set. This CD truly lets you hear Janis evolve through her short, brilliant career, from her pre-Big Brother blues days, to the raw power of Cheap Thriils, to her legendary live performances and the more nuanced final recordings. The acoustic demo of "Me and Bobby McGee" gives me goose bumps to this day. Even now that I've collected almost all of her discography, this is still the album I recommend to people looking to start their Joplin collection.