Pearl [Gold CD, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Janis Joplin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1971
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Gold CD, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002A6U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,099 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Move Over

2. Cry Baby

3. A Woman Left Lonely

4. Half Moon

5. Buried Alive In The Blues

6. My Baby

7. Me & Bobby McGee

8. Mercedes Benz

9. Trust Me

10. Get It While You Can

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Janis Joplin made the blues her own. Though she didn't live to finish this album before her 1971 death from a heroin overdose, her intense passion and frantic cries of pain and ecstasy were enough to make "Pearl" one of the most memorable recordings of her era. Her band does fill up some vinyl with the instrumental "Buried Alive in the Blues," but it's the vocals that make this album worth hearing these many decades later. Listen to the tortured heartbreak of "Cry Baby" or the hopeful declarations of Kris Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee" and understand why Joplin remains an essential, if tragic, figure in pop. --Steve Appleford

Product Description

This deluxe edition is enhanced by live performances from the Festival Express Tour in 1970, some of which were included a recent documentary of that event; here, the performances by her and the accomplished Full Tilt sounded much rawer, especially her breakout song "Piece of My Heart" and "Move Over." Joplin also showed a range not only covering the blues and rock but also the standards as in Gershwin's "Summertime" and Rodgers and Hart's "Little Girl Blue" in her own signature delivery. Listen closely as she introduces "Get It While You Can," in which she follows by saying, "It's talking about everybody's life and what passes by you. 'Cause it ain't gonna be there when you make up, man." Sony. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic and historic, April 29, 2002

By 

Karen Anderson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pearl (Audio CD)

Paul Rothchild (Doors' producer) came along at just the right time to produce this classic and historic work, which was Janis' last album, released posthumously after her tragic and premature departure from the planet. "Me and Bobby McGee" never ceases to amaze me, especially when she delivers the word "nuthin" after singing the famous line, "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose." The way she says "nuthin" is just so flat-out REAL, you know she's speaking to you straight from her bones. (The acoustic demo of this song is available on the 3-CD box set, which sheds light on how Janis single-handedly created the blueprint for this track, just her and her guitar). "My Baby" is gospel-like and redemptive, and is my favorite song on the "Pearl" album. It's as though her voice is a gateway into another realm and sends chills thru the body. "Cry Baby" is also one of Janis' most amazing vocal performances. (I like the alternate version of "Cry Baby" available on the 3-CD box set even better, because it captures some interesting moments of spontaneity and laughter in the studio, along with a very amusing rap midway thru the song.)

What many people don't realize about Janis is that she wrote some of her own (and best) material. "Move Over" is a Janis original and rocks as hard as anything she ever recorded. She sang this song on the Dick Cavett show right before her infamous high school reunion in Port Arthur.

She also performed "Get It While You Can" on the same show, which is as much of an anthem as any song she recorded. The line, "we may not be here tomorrow," is all too prophetic. And the instrumental track of the ironic "Buried Alive in the Blues" is hard to listen for all the obvious reasons because Janis is conspicuous by her absence. (She was scheduled to finish the vocals for this Nick Gravenites tune the day she was found dead from an accidental overdose in her hotel room. The juxtaposition of the uptempo, happy beat of "Buried Alive in the Blues" is at odds with the circumstances, but it is a fitting tribute that it was included on the album, and a stark reminder that Janis was truly a force of nature and an highly exuberant (and joyous) personality, even when missing in action.)

... "Pearl" is rock 'n' roll history, a must for every record collection. There will always be a bummer element to this album because of the association of her death, but her energy and brilliance rock on and shine on, none the less. All praise to Janis---Legend, icon, pioneer---the late, the great Janis Joplin, still-reigning queen of rock.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Justin Crawford's Pearl review, August 10, 2000

By 

justin crawford (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pearl (Audio CD)

Janis Joplin's 1971 release "Pearl" is the best album by Janis. Even though it's not a finished album but it never will be. She died before she had time to finish the album. Thats why "Buried Alive in The Blues" has no vocal, because she died the night before she was suppose to record that vocal. The rest of the album is Janis at her best vocally and musically "Move Over" a song penned by Janis is the lead track and probably the best song on the record. All the songs are great and very emotional. She left this world too soon but we do have her music. What little there is, but go get pearl it is her best.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TIMELESS MASTERPIECE, May 24, 2002

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Pearl (Audio CD)

What struck me about Pearl upon listening to it again recently, is the authenticity of the music. Some reviewer once claimed that rock merely gets stale whereas pop music rots with time. There is nothing stale about Joplin and her band on this all-time classic. After all these years, it remains a magnificent listening experience because of the quality of the songs, the band's tight playing and the impressive emotional range of Joplin's vocals. Unlike on Cheap Thrills, where there was mostly a cosmic battle between her voice and Big Brother's heavy metal onslaught, here the voice is the star. My favorites on an album of classics include the incredible Me and Bobby McGee, the tender A Woman Left Lonely, the nervous Half Moon, the emotional Cry Baby, the buoyant Get It While You Can and the plaintive/humorous Mercedes Benz. Perfect arrangements, brilliant playing and masterly vocalization combine here to create a timeless masterpiece.