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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Janis at 50, October 4, 2000
This remarkable collection was released in 1993, a de facto companion release for sister Laura Joplin's biography _Love, Janis_ , with both serving to commemorate Janis' 50th birthday. If you were aware of that fact, at the time, it only served as a reminder of what a presence was lost on October 4, 1970--and what a great great middle-aged broad Janis (to paraphrase Bill Graham, the presumable announcer on _Cheap Thrills_) would likely have been had she lived.I write this on the 30th anniversary of Janis' death, and can't help wonder how Janis might have been at age 57. It is, of course, impossible to say, but whether you fantasize that she would be as outrageous as ever--still performing and raising hell--or living in virtual retirement (perhaps returning to her first love, painting), she would nonetheless have remained a fascinating figure. One thing is certain, as this box set attests, she would indeed have continued to grow and develop musically for as long as she chose to record and perform. There is no denying that her voice altered drastically over the course of her brief career, and there is every indication that, by the time of her death, she had lost much of her upper register (compare the studio version of "Try" on disc 2 to the "live" version that appears on disc 3 and you'll notice how she cannot begin to recreate those scalding wails with which she closed out the song only a year before). But Janis was also a resourceful singer, and when her attempt to reach those impossible high notes fails, she takes another tack and begins to vamp over the the band's instrumental finale. It's not as exciting, but it shows that she was thinking, and that she was capable of compensating for any vocal limitations (whether they were temporary or permanent). The youthful Janis Joplin had a remarkably flexible voice. Her earliest recordings have her affecting a country blues style--as exemplified by the three previously unreleased acoustic tracks that begin this album. But she also used to claim that she could sound like Joan Baez when she felt like it, a claim given credence by her performance on "Coo Coo," an early Big Brother track, which closes with her trilling quite beautifully over some Eastern influenced guitar. On this song, as with another somewhat lesser known Big Brother song, "The Last Time," she barely seems to pause for breath. There is a youthful exuberence on nearly all the early tracks that more than makes up for any lack of sophistication. But that's the kicker, and that's, ultimately, my point. The strains put on Janis' voice would ultimately diminish its power, but I am convinced, based on the quality of the _Pearl_-era tracks that she was already learning to compensate for a lack of her earlier full-throatedness. "Me and Bobby McGee" was a masterpiece of phrasing over belting, and there would certainly have been more to come in that vein had she lived. This set may not be perfect. Some might argue that its substitution of some inferior "alternate versions" ("Cry Baby" being the best example) serves to lessen the overall quality of this collection, making it a must only for completists. But I would argure that,despite its flaws, it presents us with a portrait of Janis' entire career--which brief as it was, demonstrated a variety and musical growth that few could match over the course of a much longer lifetime.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something for everyone, July 27, 2002
This box set walks the line between appealing to collectors and to the average listener. The project is basically well-thought out with the exception of a few of the tracks. First, I definitely love the alternate version of "Cry Baby" released here. You hear Janis cracking up at herself as she misses a high note but never a beat, meanwhile letting it rip with this great studio take. The track includes a hilarious vamp/rap with Janis in fine form lamenting the guy who opts for the road instead of her satin sheets, fur and chicken. She cracks herself up again when she says, "And that should be identity enough for any man." You just gotta love it. Another superlative moment that cannot be found anywhere else [18 Essentials does not include the studio discussion featured here] is the acoustic demo of "Me and Bobby McGee," featuring a solo Janis accompanying herself on guitar. Again, the track includes an introductory studio discussion with Janis's hilarious comments about her guitar playing and recurring Texas accent. But more importantly, the track reveals how Janis herself mapped out one of the great recordings in rock history. She's the one who kicks it up a notch during the la-la-la portion of the song before exclaiming "that's when somebody else has to take over.." It's vintage Janis and worth the price of the box set to obtain. Another standout is the very hard-to-find Saturday afternoon performance of "Ball and Chain" at the Monterey Pop Festival. This is the quintessential moment for Janis and Big Brother and the Holding Company, the one that left Mama Cass looking on in awe. The Sunday night version is the one always featured in Janis documentaries in which she performs in her gold lame pantsuit. The Saturday afternoon "Ball and Chain" is rock n' roll history as it happened, and therefore an essential choice for the box set, even though the Cheap Thrills version is even more mindblowing. Disappointments include the alternate choice of "Summertime," which while decent, doesn't begin to compare with the incredible sonic moments displayed in Amsterdam with the Kozmic Blues band. Another strange addition is "One Night Stand" produced by Todd Rundgren. This track is available on "Farewell Song," performed with the Butterfield Blues Band, but on the boxed set, it so speedy she sounds like she's singing on helium. What happened? How could the compilers/engineers make such a mistake? There are two versions of "Try" here, one with the original Kozmic Blues band and the other with Full Tilt live. Anyone who has seen the movie "Janis" knows the spoken introduction featured with Full Tilt occured at Toronto, not Calgary, and that the compilers of the "In Concert" album from where this track originated, cheated by cutting and pasting the intro onto the Calgary track, totally unnecessary, in my opinion, because the Toronto performance was better. But I digress. Because the fact is, no compilation ever seems to be perfect. So back to what else is good about the box set... I like the "Trouble in Mind" typewriter tape with Jorma the K playing acoustic guitar in his living room. Here's where Janis sounds just like Bessie Smith, which gives the listener an excellent taste of how Janis once sounded during the Coffee Gallery days of the early 60s. The box set also features Janis's first ever recorded performance, "What Good Can Drinkin' Do?", a Janis-penned original. Lastly, the artwork and booklet are really hip and cool. I agree with the previous reviewer that the Ellen Willis essay could have been left behind, but Ann Powers' writing is very enlightening, especially for the younger listener
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If you are a true Janis fan, you really must buy this boxed set.
Yes, you'll probably end up programming your favorite cuts and skipping others, but that's what box sets are for, right?
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This is the Wrong box set., October 27, 2002
OK, if you are new to Janis, skip this and go straight to the Box of Pearls CD box. If you are a collector like me, there are some tracks here that are not featured elsewhere, though only a few.
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