Be a Brother [Import]

Big Brother and The Holding Company | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Acadia Records
• ASIN: B000069DPW
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,161 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Keep On

2. Joseph's Coat

3. Home On The Strange

4. Someday

5. Heartache People

6. Sunshine Baby

7. Mr. Natural

8. Funkie Jim

9. I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle

10. Be A Brother

Editorial Reviews

First time on CD. 10 tracks including 'Keep On', 'Joseph's Coat', 'Someday' & 'Be A Brother'. 1970 release. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be A Brother, June 7, 2008

By 

Stuart Jefferson (San Diego,Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Be a Brother (Audio CD)

Approximately 34 min. Remastered sound. This,of course, is Big Brother after Janis Joplin left. What we have is a band striving to keep it together after a few brief years of fame. Comprised of the original members of the band with the addition of Chicago blues/Electric Flag vocalist Nick Gravenites. Vocal powerhouse Kathy McDonald is also present on a few tracks. David Shallock (?) was at this time also a member of the band. Apparently James Gurley had moved over to the bass,and by this time the group had learned to actually tune their instruments and the overall sound of the group was much smoother. Keyboardist and vocalist Mike Finnegan was also a new member of the band. Richard Green,formerly of Seatrain,played a bit of fiddle also.

Some people,of course,did not like the "advancement" of the band's playing. The rough,crude sound that so many people liked was gone. Also,another new twist came with the use of The Tower Of Power horns on some cuts. Definitely not your typical "Big Brother" sound. Gone were the Haight Street flashes of psychedelia and the loose,loud guitar sounds of their beginnings.

If all this sounds like I'm hedging a bit,well,I am. This is not where you would begin your introduction to this band. The band we all knew is almost unrecognizable here. Every now and again the old feeling comes through-but not enough to sustain interest. This is something you would listen to every once in a while for the good tracks (and there are some) and as a trip back to this whole era-an era,as the band itself says,when they just wanted to keep things together and keep going.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Rebirth Of Big Brother, December 26, 2010

By 

Aron D. Rush "missouri reb" (Cross Timbers, Mo usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be a Brother (Audio CD)

This is one of those discs that wasn't what I thought it should be, so it gathered dust on the shelf, awaiting a day when I'd pull my head out of the dark place it was in. As often as I've complained about people expecting bands to recycle their sound album after album, I was expecting this out of Big Brother and the Holding Company. I loved those first two albums and the '66-'68 live recordings so much, I figured the guys could keep that sound going without Janis. After all, they were a band before she came, and I loved the songs the guys sang after she arrived. Of course when she left she took guitarist Sam Andrew with her and this sucker punch knocked the wind out of a band who had just begun to realize their potential. Thus, when the band shoulda' been riding high on the success of Cheap Thrills they instead found themselves disoriented and fragmented, and then dissolved completely.

1970 was the start of a new decade and also a new beginning for Big Brother. Sam Andrew had returned, James Gurley had switched to bass, Pete Albin to guitar, drummer Dave Getz, and the addition of Nick Gravenites (Electric Flag) and David Shallock (Sons Of Champlin) brought in some impressive musicianship and song writing talent as well as a fresh outlook. Big Brother and the Holding Company was reborn, but was a very different band than they'd been in the 60's. They were now tighter, funkier and far more versatile. They tackled a variety of musical styles with ease and most important of all, seemed to be enjoying themselves again. The band hit the studio and recorded Be A Brother. Numerous friends came around to help out and the finished album is far better than many (myself included) were willing to admit.

This is a collection of excellent songs touching soul, funk, country, blues, folk and jazz, but all within a rock format. The band's playing is tight and purposeful, talent, skill and creativity oozing from every track. What's more, this is a lot of fun to listen to, just like the earlier days of the band. My appreciation for this disc grows with every listen and I feel really foolish at having left this neglected on the shelf for so long! Yea, it's a different sound, but this is some really good music, and they still know how to rock. I urge fans of the band's earlier work to give this a chance, and those who didn't care for their earlier sound, you may just find yourself digging this, especially if you like Bead Game, Moby Grape, Shady Grove era Quicksilver and Kaleidoscope(US). Informative liner notes by Sam Andrew. Excellent sound quality. Four stars minimum.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Savory, but for special tastes, April 26, 2010

By 

Kil Roi (Ashburn, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be a Brother (Audio CD)

Proof positive there's life after Janis. This Big Brother collection of psychedelia-blues is by no means boilerplate. Produced by Nick Gravenites, Be a Brother is an eclectic roundup of tracks showcasing Gravenites and Sam Andrews' versatility.

"Heartache People," a mesmerizing blues tune, highlights the album with a simple chord progression, a soothing electric violin and Nick vowing to stay away from anyone who will drag his spirits down. "I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle," a country-dope ditty, could easily fit on a New Riders or Commander Cody LP. And for those who really miss JJ, there's "Mr. Natural." That's Janis making a cameo appearance with her trademark wail toward the very end of the song.

The album is definitely a 4-star piece of work. The other star is for the album cover. Somehow, that hastily drawn gap-toothed fellow flashing the peace sign makes me smile.