I’m not sure what foolishness is responsible for my never intentionally listening to Janis Joplin before now. I think probably, her legacy is so firmly entrenched in the annals of music history that I must have subliminally felt like I was familiar with her myself.
In fact, it was only a few weeks ago when my wife returned from a discount store with a $1 sealed copy of this record that I realized that she had escaped my attention. And within seconds of putting it on, I realized just how much I was missing. Pearl, recorded shortly before (and released shortly after) her tragic death, finds Joplin demonstrating every ounce of her skill as an arranger and vocalist, with the Full Tilt Boogie Band offering a fittingly electric accompaniment to That Voice.