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The Essential

~ Janis Joplin

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Price:	�7.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

Audio CD (27 Jan 2003)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Sony
ASIN: B00007MBZ5
Other Editions: MP3 Download

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,459 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.

Disc 1:

Samples

Song Title Artist Time Price

1. Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) Janis Joplin 3:56 �0.69

2. Maybe Janis Joplin 3:40 �0.69

3. One Good Man Janis Joplin 4:09 �0.69

4. Little Girl Blue Janis Joplin 3:49 �0.69

5. Work Me, Lord Janis Joplin 6:37 �0.69

6. Tell Mama (Live) Janis Joplin 6:39 �0.69

7. Move Over Janis Joplin 3:41 �0.69

8. Cry Baby Janis Joplin 3:57 �0.69

9. A Woman Left Lonely Janis Joplin 3:28 �0.69

10. Half Moon Janis Joplin 3:52 �0.69

11. My Baby Janis Joplin 3:44 �0.69

12. Me And Bobby McGee Janis Joplin 4:30 �0.69

13. Mercedes Benz Janis Joplin 1:46 �0.69

14. Trust Me Janis Joplin 3:16 �0.69

15. Get It While You Can Janis Joplin 3:23 �0.69

16. Mercedes Benz - Remix Janis Joplin Vs Medicine Head 3:45 �0.69

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Product Description

CD Description

This two-disc set breaks from the usual pattern of Legacy'sESSENTIAL series by presenting a large number of concert performances, in this case, focusing more Janis Joplin's tremendous power as a live vocalist than her comparatively sedatestudio appearances. Other than a handful of tracks (the immortal "Down on Me" from BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY, three from CHEAP THRILLS, and others), the entirety of the first disc consists of live recordings. These include two previously unreleased tunes ("Kozmic Blues" and the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody", a la Wilson Pickett) from Joplin's solo debut at Woodstock. The second disc contains more live tracks,plus the best tunes from Joplin's two solo albums and the various outtakes that were released after her death (like thescorching performance of "Tell Mama" that was previously available only as a bonus track on PEARL), providing a well-rounded overview of Joplin's brief career.

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2 Reviews

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4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not as essential as it could have been!, 19 Jan 2004

By A Customer

Although most of the contents are undeniably 'essential Janis' it's hard to fathom why the record company chose to include the inferior studio pre-Monterey versions of classics such as 'Down on Me' and 'Bye Bye Baby' from their 1st album. The definitive versions of these 2 songs (live versions) are better known to most Janis fans (i.e. on 'The Ultimate Collection' for example and 'Live at Winterland 68')

In fact,with the fantastic wealth of material available from the great albums released in Janis' lifetime....Cheap Thrills, Kozmic Blues, and then the later posthumous 'Pearl' 'In Concert, and 'Live at Winterland 68', the mind boggles as to why anything from the inferior first Big Brother album (recorded 1966 but delayed for many months before its release just after Monterey Pop in order to cash in)was included here. Janis just doesn't sound like Janis on these early recordings and the band lack their later grunge/psychedelic/punk power (by all accounts Janis and Big Brother were very unhappy with that 1st album). There's also a live version of 'Kozmic Blues' which, although it is good, is not a patch on the studio version from 'I got dem ol Kozmic Blues again mama'. Which is a shame as it's one of her great moments..

For a true 'essential' Janis collection, as this should have been, there'd be no hesitation in awarding it 5 stars. But it loses a star for the record company compiler's poor judgement.If you are new to Janis, it would be better to go for the original albums (as mentioned above) or for a taster of Janis, go for 'the ultimate collection'.

There is however one good reason for purchasing the 'Essential Janis' cd over and above everything else - for the sublime version of 'Ball and Chain' recorded at the Monterey Pop Festival 1967 - the performance that deservedly made Janis a superstar.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essential, 22 Dec 2008

By	Spider Monkey (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

'The Essential Janis Joplin' is a pretty good place to start if you want to learn more about this amazing and influential singer. This has an array of tracks spanning her career and shows how she could go from storming raw blues to soulful, almost jazzy vocals without blinking an eye. This has such tracks as 'Me and Bobby McGee', 'Piece of My Heart' and 'Mercedes Benz', but for me this album would be worth buying for 'Little Girl Blue' alone. Never will you hear such emotion and pain in one song, it moves me deeply every time I hear it. Janis has become one of those sixties artists that everyone mentions in the same breath as Hendrix and Morrison and whilst she is as influential and symbolises that era, she was also an outstanding performer in her own right. Joplin is well known for her outlandish lifestyle and extreme living, but in this case let her music do the talking for her and you'll soon get a picture of what a complex and versatile character she actually was. If the music has piqued your interest I recommend 'Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times Of Janis Joplin' by Alice Echols, which is an in-depth biography of Joplins life and makes for interesting reading.

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	66% buy the item featured on this page: The Essential 4.5 out of 5 stars (2) �7.48
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