Pearl

Sound DNA

• Rock
• Blues Rock

• raw
• yearning
• bohemian

About

When Janis Joplin died during the early '70s sessions for <i>Pearl</i>, there was no vocal on "Buried Alive in the Blues"; the instrumental track was included on the posthumous album as something like a moment of silence. The tragedy of the singer's lost life was doubled by the absence of an artist sensing a new power in herself. More controlled than the psychedelic blues of <i>Cheap Thrills</i>, thanks to her new Full Tilt Boogie Band, <i>Pearl</i> was nonetheless awash in what made Joplin great. Even if she had lived, her elegiac "Me and Bobby McGee" and a cover of Howard Tate's wise soul ballad "Get It While You Can" would have carried huge emotional resonance. Without her, even the jokey a cappella "Mercedes Benz" stung. "Pearl" was one grand lady, as this album continues to remind us.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits