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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Box set how a box set should be for all artists, 7 Dec 2001
By A Customer
I'd give it more stars if I could.
This was the box set to turn me on to Janis. There are many reasons why. To listen to it you have to acknowledge the care and discernment with which tracks have been chosen. Somebody spent a long time on this. This means it presents a wonderful audio history of the woman and has compiled, in my opinion, her best performances, leaving the other "Best Of" collections in the shade. And I have heard them all. And they are not all digitally remastered like this entire collection.
Firstly, these CDs contain the best of the bulk of her studio album material. And if there is an outstanding live version, they have included that instead.
Secondly, the extra tracks are the best I have ever heard and some of these have subsequently made it onto the remastered album re-issues as bonus tracks, but most have not. Here's a breakdown to whet your appetites:
CD 1 - "Big Brother & the Holding Company" material plus an early 1962 recording of "What Good Can Drinkin' Do" of a young Janis and her autoharp, two Blues songs from the 1965 "Typewriter Tape", 1967 live performances of "Call On Me" (beautiful) and "Women Is Losers" (rare) from the Avalon Ballroom, 1968 live "Flower In The Sun" from Winterland (superb version, sharp and clear), a "Cheap Thrills" outtake of "Misery'N" (poignant, stunning), two singles "Coo Coo" and "The Last Time" (sung with real emotional impact) and, this CD's crowning glory, the Saturday matinee performance of "Ball 'N' Chain" from Monterey 67, the performance that got her noticed and made her famous (Plus "Roadblock").
CD2 - material from "Cheap Thrills" & "Kozmic Blues" albums plus an outtake of "Catch Me Daddy" (very, very good), alternate take of "Summertime" (better than the album version), an outtake of "Dear Landlord" with the Kozmic Blues Band and two live songs from the Ed Sullivan show of "Raise Your Hand" (good) and "Maybe" (extremely good), though the sound quality on these two is slightly below par.
CD3 - "Pearl" album material, of course, plus "One Night Stand" with Paul Butterfield's band, "Tell Mama" and "Try" live from the Canadian Festival Express Tour 1970 (electric !). From the "Pearl" sessions are Janis' solo acoustic demo of "Bobby McGee" (fantastic), a birthday message to John Lennon, the full take of "Mercedes Benz" and, my personal favourite, an alternate take of "Cry Baby" which makes me laugh everytime, Janis' sense of humour is robust and this song absolutely shines with the essence of her and she doesn't miss a beat.
Only two studio album tracks do not feature - "Blindman" (BB & Holding Co.) and "Buried Alive In The Blues" (which was instrumental anyway). All others are there in their best forms, so get this and you'll never need to buy any of the albums, you have the best live interpretations and outtakes collected for one artist.
All for an absolute bargain price plus extensive sleeve notes booklet with photographs and full track listings. Given the choice, this is superior to every "Best Of" and better than "Box of Pearls" for the care that has been taken. The tracks are there because of their quality, not to hook collectors. The overall audio quality is top-notch.
May I recommend after purchasing this, you think about "Joplin In Concert" ? Again, superlative versions of her live performances with Big Brother and Full Tilt Boogie put together with care.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
still an inspiration to female musicians everywhere, 5 July 2004
I actually accidentally ordered this. I was just trying to work out the shipping costs when I clicked on one page too far, but I'm definitely glad I did. There isn't a song on all these three CDs I didn't like, although in my opinion CD no. 2 is the best. I was waaaaaay too young to hear Janis while she was still alive, and had only heard 'One Good Man' before I ordered this, but upon hearing her on songs like 'Kozmic Blues', 'Piece Of My Heart' and 'Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)', I was truly blown away by Janis' amazingly powerful voice, and was also immediately inspired to make my voice sound like that. I only succeeded in hurting my throat, but the thought (not to mention effort) was there.Anyway, all Janis' best songs (in my opinion) are on these CDs, and you should do yourself a favour and buy them, and listen to one of the best voices you will ever hear. Be amazed. Be very amazed.
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See all 47 tracks on this disc
