100 LPs Shortlist #45: Big Brother and the Holding Company - "Cheap Thrills"

It's a rare album whose legend exists as much for the music as it does for its album cover. The second album by San Francisco's psych-rock legends Big Brother and the Holding Company features an iconic cover that is so rich in detail and so fascinating to look at that it almost eclipses the music.

How on earth did I ever find an album that was so far outside of my "time"? As a 90s teenager I found an out-of-print book chronicling the artwork of the album cover from the birth of rock and roll up until the late 1970s called "The Face of Rock and Roll" by Bruce Pollock and John Wagman. It was an LP album sized full colour illustrated book with a stack of fascinating looking album covers that one day I'd hoped to own or at least listen to the contents of.



All these years later I still haven't listened to them all. I haven't even found half of them to purchase yet. But I did find "Cheap Thrills". And it is an album for the ages.

After discovering Janis Joplin some 20-odd years after she'd died, via the "Pearl" LP, it was only natural that sooner or later I'd bump into Big Brother and the Holding Company. And of course, Janis' vocals in this record are the stuff of legend. They solidified her status as the most powerful vocalist of her generation.

Not bad for a record that ended up completely differently to the way it was supposed to be.

After releasing a very tame sounding LP on a tiny independent Jazz label Mainstream, after the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 major label A&R men started swarming around San Francisco looking for hip new bands. Columbia/CBS scored Big Brother, and they were quickly tasked with the job of making an album.

The original plan was supposed to be to release a compilation of tracks recorded during two nights of concerts at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, but the producer wasn't too fond of the sound of the tapes. They then tried working in the studio, but that didn't work out either. This was one of the most anticipated releases of 1968 and the media, the fans and the label were getting impatient so they released a mix of the best bits of the two - some studio, some live. From the seven tracks on the original LP, four were live, two were studio tracks and the remaining one was a studio track with a rowdy invited audience.

Columbia's then CEO Clive Davis wasn't overly happy with the album, but felt vindicated in his signing when the album hit the top of the US Billboard album charts, He especially singled out the cover of George Gershwin's "Summertime" as being a great way to get the "kids" interested in Gershwin's music again. Clive played it for Richard Rogers (one half of Rogers and Hammerstein) and he hated it. Go figure.

The long version of "Ball And Chain" is probably the one track that turned Janis into an immortal. If she never recorded another thing after this album, she would be forever regarded as one of the best. This live version is one of the most chilling and powerful performances on record. She gives 110% in this and every note comes from the core of her broken soul. Her pain is real on this: this is the most honest performance I've ever heard. I've seen it reduce people to tears, such is its power.

It could be debated how long Janis' voice would have lasted if she had lived. She sang above and beyond her physical capabilities every night, leaving no-one watching in any doubt that she had given everything of herself on stage that night. But how long would she last doing that?

One of the greatest albums of any era, and not just of its time. Great music is ageless and timeless and this album proves it - it sounds great almost 50 years after being recorded.

Take a listen below:

Vale Sam Andrew and Lesley Gore

In quick succession we have lost a couple of great musicians from the 1960s.



Sam Andrew, one time Janis Joplin sideman and founding member of San Francisco psychedelic pioneers Big Brother and the Holding Company has died at age 71 of complications following surgery for a heart attack.

He was one of the two guitarists in Big Brother and he was one of the main songwriters in the band, he left in 1969 when Janis left to start her own band. Once Janis' Kozmik Blues Band morphed into the Full Tilt Boogie band, Sam decamped back to Big Brother. The Big Brother imploded in 1972 and he continued to perform sporadically until a few months before his heart attach in late 2014.

His unique guitar style and contribution to rock music will be remembered, and he will be missed. Vale Sam.



Also today, 60s pop singer Lesley Gore passed on from Lung Cancer.



She was discovered at age 16 by none other than Quincy Jones, signed to Mercury records and then proceeded to make some of the more memorable singles in the early 1960s, such as "It's My Party", "Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows" and the early feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me".

Later in her career she wrote songs for other people and contributed songs to films such as "Fame", as well as making many television appearances.

Vale Lesley.

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned

William Cosgreve once wrote "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."

I, for one, concur. I would also add that if said woman is in possession of a guitar and a propensity to write music, then may God have mercy on the soul of the one who would dare cause such dire offense. Because, there is a good chance that the rogue in question will be hearing about it for the term of his natural life.

Heartbreak has inspired some of the best music ever made. There's no better medium than music for expressing one's emotions. And yet, I'd imagine most people, of either gender, would be horrified to hear themselves described in less than glowing terms in a song blasting out of the radio.

Women are capable of intense emotions. The expressions below of these emotions are enough to make the flesh crawl of every bloke within a five mile radius.

Alanis Morrisette - You Outta Know



This song used to terrify the hell out of me, and I'm sure it did for a heap of other guys as well. But that was the desired effect. And holy crap is she pissed off! Alanis has never disclosed who the song was written about, but you could bet that the lawsuits would have flown around thick and fast once the truth was out there.

Loretta Lynn - Don't Come Home a'Drinkin' (with Lovin' On Your Mind).



Loretta had a rough start to life. She was married not long before her 15th birthday and was 7 months pregnant by the time she turned 16 to a philandering alcoholic. Loretta makes it plain, in no uncertain terms, what to expect the next time he comes home after a boozy night with the boys. The steely determination of her vocal delivery leaves you with no doubt in your mind that she's serious, either.

Melissa Etheridge - Like The Way I Do



The five stages of grief are well documented, and it sounds like Melissa has recorded the exact moment when she goes from Denial (stage 1) to Anger (stage 2) on this track (around the 3:15 mark). It's compelling, to be sure, but you can't help thinking that you'd feel weird watching this if she didn't offer us this window into her pain.

Pat Benetar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot



Given that Pat Benetar's records were helmed by pop music genius Mike Chapman, her rage has been tamed and boiled down somewhat on this track. One still gets the sense that the rage is just simmering below the surface, however...

Bikini Kill - Star Bellied Boy



Kathleen Hanna keeps no skeletons in the closet. Everything she committed to tape was a pure expression of her deepest emotions. On this one, she demands the boy she's interested in proves he's different, and unlike the rest. You won't doubt her intent.

Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin - Piece of My Heart



Written by pop svengali Bert Berns, Janis, as always, channels her raw emotions and puts 110% into her performance on this. Subsequent versions haven't been as bracing as this one...

Liz Phair - Divorce Song



The entire "Exile in Guyville" LP is one long expression of rage and pain after a breakup. We could have chosen any one of the 18 tracks on the original double LP, but this one meets the brief more than others. She never sounded this angry again...

This is not an exhaustive list. Which tracks have we missed? Let us know in the comments.

Enjoy!