Customer Reviews

Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin

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This brilliant book is both a biography of Janis Joplin and a cultural history of the 1960s. Scars Of Sweet Paradise is a very thorough and in-depth look at Joplin's life and times and at the same time an exploration of the quiet suburban life versus the lure of the counterculture. The bohemian underground, unlike some idyllic portrayals of it, had its share of cynicism and destructiveness.

Much of this book deals with this evolving underground as it relates to the music, gender relationships and the merger of art and commerce. It is the story of a generation's restless and reckless life on the edge, from which Janis and many others never returned. The author conducted over 150 interviews and spent 5 years on research to produce this comprehensive work on Joplin and her era.

The Janis that emerges is a complex, multi-faceted personality that inspires admiration and sadness. The story begins in Port Arthur where Joplin's early life is described, including her first exposures to rock and folk music. It follows her to college and her first taste of the bohemian life then on to her first visit to San Francisco and eventual return to Port Arthur.

She went back to SF and her career began to take off. It is fascinating to read about the colourful personalities that she mixed with in San Francisco: the friends, the lovers and the musicians. Echols is a skilful narrator, seamlessly blending Joplin's moves and her relationships with the rise of her career. There are plenty of quotes from contemporary musicians that really illuminate this mythologized period in history.

My only minor complaint is that the author does not seem to share in the excitement as Joplin finally makes it big with Big Brother an the Cheap Thrills album - this story is just given clinically as part of the larger narrative. The various bands, Big Brother, Kozmic Blues and Full Tilt Boogie, are discussed in detail, as well as the recording process of each of the major albums: Cheap Thrills, I Got Dem Old Kozmic Blues and Pearl. The personalities behind her success, like Abert Grossman and Linda Gravenites, are sympathetically portrayed.

Echols explores Joplin's influence on various performers and notes that the heavy metal crowd picked up on her style but that she didn't directly inspire any clones. Ultimately, Janis appears as a brave, wild and very vulnerable human being who was quite likable, if somewhat volatile. There are 35 black and white photographs and the book concludes with a discography, copious notes and an index. Almost scholarly in its depth, Scars Of Sweet Paradise is yet a gripping read that will please her fans and all who are interested in the 1960s counterculture and the evolution of rock music.

In a very real way Janis Lyn Joplin is very much a "forgotten". You hardly ever hear her stuff on radio- with the possible exception of "Me and Bobby McGee". And for my money, her one and only (and unforunately, posthumous) Number 1 is quite thoroughly unrepresentative of her as an artist or person. Forgotten Janis Joplin, like another Forgotten Janis- Janis Martin- the "female Elvis".

Some colleges apparently now include Janis as a feminist icon, or at least woman of note, and at least some interest is now being restored in her as a major figure in popular cultural history.

Echols' work is a very well written chronology of the first major female rock star's short life. There is no sensationalism, no unsubstantiated rumour that isn't stated as being so, and no attempt by the author to over-psychoanalysis her subject.

You come away from this book with an understanding as to the enormous talent that Janis possessed, and how dealing with it with her insecure mindset ultimately led to her very untimely demise.

It is also clearly the most credible, and creditable biography of Janis currently available: Amburn's book is clearly sensationalist; Myra Freidman's (including the revised edition) comes from someone who didn't know Janis first hand that well; Dalton does not cover enough ground, and is more of a personal account; and sister Laura's "Love, Janis" is antithetical to Amburn- a glossing over of the sex and drugs in favour of just how nice, but misunderstood, Janis was.

Echols also frames her subject within the context of the times in which she lived. Again, no judgement, no sensationalism. Another prick for the bubble of the illusion of the Woodstock myth that the "hippies" were all innocent flower people. The Sixties were a tough time for many who flocked to Haight-Ashbury.

The book is also eminently readable; in short, a first-class primer of the "skyrocket chick" who died at the age of 27 trying to live up to her own projected self image- an image that was virtually the total opposite to the real, white picket fence wannabe from Port Arthur, Texas that was Janis Lyn Joplin.

Janis Joplin is an exquisite focal point around which the life and times of the era she lived in are profoundly illuminated. It's been said that if you can remember the 60s, you probably weren't there. I can now vouch for accuracy of that statement. So much of what Ms. Echols writes about is material that would have completely disappeared, considering the mind bend of the participants. It's a hard book to take, especially if you, or one you love, is an offspring of this generation. I know this happened to me. The book should be read at least twice. It's really not about Janis Joplin; it's about a ridiculously impaired time of fun, laughter, sadness, and tears. It's also a time of many blanks, which Ms. Echols has caused to surface. I recommend this book.

This book was such an interesting read that I had a hard time putting it down. Ms. Echols delves into Port Arthur in a way that is very similar to that of Mary Karr. She also looks at aspects of Janis that have not been well-contructed before this. The milieu of San Francisco and the 1960's music scene there is shown in an open and matter-of-fact way. The beginnings of the bands were more haphazard than I ever realized.One cannot understand a person unless they understand the politics and atmosphere, as with this remarkable musician.
On the personal side, Janis was a woman who wanted what we all want- to love and be loved. Echols defines where many of us let one another down by not being honest with others when they are in too deep.
As Janis wrote "It's so sad to be alone."

I highly recommend this biography to fans and people who are interested in the culture of the times.

Alice Echols skillfully weaves the cultural nuances of the complicated '60s with the life and times of the great Janis Joplin. Informative and painstakingly researched. This book is far superior to Myra Friedman's overrated "Buried Alive," which is a vast pile of stinky doo-doo rather than a definitive biography. Avoid "Buried Alive" and get this book instead.

Take it from one who was there, this biography of Janis Joplin is at the same time beautiful, intriguing and somewhat disturbing. She was such a talented, brave and courageous person that never received her just rewards. Most, except closest friends overlooked the milestones she created by challenging a closed system; both the record industry as well as society as a whole. The strides she made for women in the recording industry are felt to this day. Having met Janis in the late 60s, I can attest to the fact she was a very funny, exciting person to be around. Unfortunately, like most people, she also had a side she kept well hidden. I only wish she could have lived long enough to see what an icon she has become. Great read!

If you want to know the basic facts about Janis Joplin's life and the cultural context in which she rose to fame and self-destructed, this book is perfectly adequate to fill you in. In some respects the book is quite exhaustive, especially in documenting Janis's relationships with various musicians and her series of bands. The author did a reasonably good job of showing how Janis fit in -- or didn't - with the cultural and political context of her day, and also gives some fun general background on the birth of the San Francisco rock scene. Most compelling was the author's description of Janis's tormented family life, and it was those sympathetic attempts to piece together her psyche that seem the most genuine. My complaint with the book is that the writing and editing are far from graceful. It reads more like an academic thesis, often dry, lacking in momentum, and wordy. I read a lot of biographies and I am sure it is very hard to write a good one, but it can be done. Writing about musicians is a special challenge because to really do it well requires deep knowledge and appreciation of the genre and a gift for metaphor. I found the musical criticsm aspect of the book particularly lackluster and it often sounded like the author was parroting others' musical opinions. The editing was a puzzle, too -- sometimes you would want more information on someone, sometimes there was just too much information. Not a page-turner, but I'm glad I read it.

I have just recently finished reading my first book about the legendary blues-rock singer, Janis Joplin. Now that I have finished Alice Echols' Janis Joplin - Scars of Sweet Paradise I want to recommend this book to other readers anxious to read a good and highly-detailed book about this person's life. What really makes Scars so interesting is the fact that Miss Echols really helps the reader to understand what was going on in Janis' life by entertainingly explaining the growing cultural rise and fall of the 1960's. Alice Echols doesn't miss a beat whether she's writng about Janis' horrendous days in Port Arthur, Texas(where she grew up), her early days in San Francisco, her days with Big Brother and her other bands, or her sad spiral towards her death. So please, if you are reading this review go to your nearest bookstore immediately and buy Alice Echols wonderfully interesting and well-written book, Janis Joplin: Scars of Sweet Paradise.

ALice Echols did a superlative job with this book. I learned about a side of Janis that I always thought she had, but never heard anyone else discuss-- the young girl in pain. Also, Ms. Echols writes Janis's life as the truly great performer she was. She was the first of her kind-- the first white woman with the guts to show her pain in her songs. WIthout Janis, there would be no Melissa Etheridge or Patti Smith or Courtney Love or Sheryl Crowe. I continue to hail the great one. Thank you, Alice.

This is a wonderful book. Echols maps out the strange and beautiful world of the 60's so that the reader can better understand the sad brilliance of Janis Joplin. From her Golden Triangle roots to her wild times on the coast, Scars of Sweet Paradise is the most complete bio of Janis I have read.