Cheap Thrills

Ah so this is what the fuss was about! :)

Surprisingly decent. Wonderful? No. Very 60s, and Joplin is as screechy as ever. But eminently listenable.

4.5!

Great album, great cover art. Janis Joplin is incomparable and probably influenced everyone from Chrissy Hynde to Bon Scott to Stevie Nicks. Just another level. I love the timelessness of this record, there's nothing on it that is topical or connected to the time it was made. Should last another couple hundred years.

Could be tighter. And if Janis Joplin is your singer, why would you relegate her to backups on "Oh, Sweet Mary"? Really the only flaw on this album.

I didn't absolutely hate this like I thought I would, but there is a lot of cultural baggage here that I'm not sure I can disengage from that. It seems like my 3 rating is my o can't decide what to do with them rating.

Musically this rips; psychedelic rock 'n' roll fused with soul and blues. I am, however in the minority, in that I really don't like Joplin's vocals. Honestly feel like it sounds like someone torturing a cat. She actually sounds more haggard on this recording than some of the later ones I've heard. Everything is at its best when the band is really jamming on something. I think because Janis's voice becomes the focus when they slow down and show some restraint. If this was an instrumental album it would be amazing.

Getting real tired of listening to rock only albums on this 1001 albums experience, and I'm on day 45.

This album is heavy and rules.

Janis Joplin is an amazing singer, really powerful and raw.

This album had a strong blues feel and had some great guitar riffs. I really enjoyed it.

There are some great tracks on this like Turtle blues and piece of my heart.
The album cover is also fantastic.

Favourite song: Piece of my heart and magic of love
Least favourite: all songs are good
Album artwork: I love the cover

The late great JJ... must be a drag to know that, as a band, she was the one made you and then just went off to do her own thing.

Lovely listen, but not something to write home about, so right down the middle we go....

I don't have anything to really mention about this album, Janis Joplin's voice is a bit too harsh for me to enjoy and I didn't like the music a massive amount.

The only track I found myself liking the most is Piece of My Heart.

This music itself was mid, but honestly I question the judgement of any group that would give the o.k. to have several instances of blackface/Black caricatures on the cover (even in the 60s). I mean, that puts forward a pretty clear statement about what audience they'd like to listen to this. And I guarantee that audience is not the Black audience that revolutionized blues music and rock. 1/5

I’m at a 10.

I’ve never heard Janis Joplin’s voice until today – her name is pretty damn well known, but finally listening to her… god, what a voice. Extremely unique for its era – Ella Fitzgerald she sure as shit is not. One of the grittiest, harshest, and yet most empowering voices I think I’ve ever heard, and the range of her voice is on full display throughout this album.

Really, the only thing I could complain about is that the band behind her is so fucking good that it’s incredibly easy to zone out and be mesmerized by their guitars and percussion. Combine that with Janis’s voice and you have a deadly weapon of “being so into it you literally forget what the best parts are,” and that’s where I’m at – I would normally wax poetic about individual pieces of an album, but this all blended together to make 37 of the most entertaining minutes I’ve heard yet.

The one thing I can wax poetic about though is the absolutely stunning “Piece of My Heart” – just a bombastic track. Janis is on fire, the band’s on fire, the whole thing is a masterpiece on wax, and a truly flawless song. It’s worthy of a 5 by itself, but this whole album feels like it deserves far higher; just a masterclass to me. Absolutely fantastic stuff.

Groovay... there's no other way I can put it ☮️

The album was fun. Janis Joplin has a characteristic and great voice. The old rock tube. I had almost forgotten Piece of My Heart. I didn't know the version of Summertime yet and I really liked it.
4/5

I absolutely loved this one. Really neat pseudo-live style that works for the music. Great vocals and ripping guitar that sometimes sounds like a precursor to metal. Also doesn’t outstay it’s welcome at a brisk 37 minutes.

Janis had one of the best voices in rock, no doubt. Piece of my heart is one of the great all-time rock songs. But man, the amateur level production, fake crowd noise and disappointing backing instruments/vocals bum me out. When you had Janis in the studio, her voice should have been front and center with as little in the way as possible. No wonder she went solo after this.

not my cup of tea

Nice mix of groovy good times tunes & timeless classics. Janis Joplin was on another level, man.

Janis has a fine set o' pipes. Almost too "counter-culture 60s" generic but nothing that a liberal dungaree wearing blonde chick with a little grass looking for a groovy time couldn't fix.