Janis Joplin: “Pearl”
THE CD: “Pearl”
Janis Joplin
Columbia/Legacy C2K90282
Pearl was Janis Joplin’s farewell. The album was originally released in January 1971, after her death from a drug overdose some months before. This double CD reissue is the original album, plus 13 live cuts from the Festival Express tour in 1970.
All the original songs are classics, including “Move Over,” “Half Moon,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” and “Mercedes Benz.” There are also six previously unreleased studio tracks, and these are a hoot. On “Cry Baby,” she flubs the opening wail and cracks up, only to continue with a hilarious mid-song rap that is a parody of her usual stage persona. Listen to “Happy Trails” (Roy Rogers’ theme song), and the original demo of “Me and Bobby McGee.” There is also the instrumental “Pearl,” recorded by the band after her death.
The liner notes are a loving look back at the “Pearl” days by her longtime road manager. Taken with the before and after photos of the now-iconic cover shot of Joplin reclining drink-in-hand on a Victorian loveseat, you get a picture of just plain old Janis. And her band really kicked ass.
– Paul Gartner
