Pearl (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pearl
Studio album by Janis Joplin
Released	January 1971
Recorded	September-October 1970
Genre	Rock
Length	57:49
Label	Columbia Records
Producer(s)	Paul A. Rothchild
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link The Music Box link Rolling Stone link
Janis Joplin chronology
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969)	Pearl (1971)	In Concert (1972)

Pearl is an album by Janis Joplin, released in January 1971 just four months after her death from a heroin overdose. It is her fourth album and the only album she recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band. The album has a more polished feel than the albums she recorded with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Kozmic Blues Band thanks to the expertise of producer Paul A. Rothchild and her new backing musicians. Rothchild was best known as the producer of The Doors, and worked well with Joplin. Together they were able to craft an album that showcased her extraordinary vocal talents. The Full Tilt Boogie Band were the musicians who accompanied her on the famous Festival Express in the summer of 1970, and many of the songs on this album were introduced on the concert stage in Canada.

Pearl features the hits "Me and Bobby McGee," written by Kris Kristofferson, her lover at the time, and "Move Over," which she penned herself. Joplin sings on all of the tracks except for "Buried Alive in the Blues," which remained an instrumental because Janis never got a chance to add her vocal. The recording sessions extended from early September to early October 1970.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Move Over"
2. "Cry Baby"
3. "A Woman Left Lonely"
4. "Half Moon"
5. "Buried Alive In The Blues"
6. "My Baby"
7. "Me and Bobby McGee"
8. "Mercedes Benz"
9. "Trust Me"
10. "Get It While You Can"