[Wil]

Er is it me or does she sound like Marge Simpson?

* im not bashing her or anything. I just noticed the similarities on "summer time",
she's really great IMHO, love that voice and attitude.

 

[biggerdog]

It's not you. I could never understand why people would get all rapturous over "that voice".

 

[Jeff E]

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggerdog It's not you. I could never understand why people would get all rapturous over "that voice".

Folks said the same thing about the early Bob Dylan. Just as with headphones and headamps, it's all about the right pairing, in this case between voice and song. IMHO JJ's vocal quality (astute comparison to Julie Kavner, Wil) generally worked well with her choice of songs. Some lyrics are simply not meant to sound pretty.

 

[Aman]

Janis Joplin was an angry, excited poet. Her attitude and lyrics came first, voice second. Simple as that.

She was a real pioneer. Her and Grace Slick essentially opened the doors for popular rock female singers. They were respected more for their tallents than their looks (though Grace Slick IS beautiful

)

 

[catachresis]

And clenching your fist
For the ones like us
Who are oppressed by the figures
of beauty,
You fixed yourself --
You said, Well nevermind
We are ugly but
We have the music.

-- "Chelsea Hotel = 2"

It's about this time when Janis and Leonard Cohen were playing Cribbage together.

 

[markl]

The big deal is all about the raw emotion and grit of her performances, she's not a classically-trained opera diva.

 

[gratefulshrink]

Maybe The Simpsons should have an episode where Marge does a Joplin cover......

 

[mkmelt]

In the summer of 1967 Big Brother & The Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin, was one of the San Francisco bands that was invited to play at the Monterey International Pop Festival. Until the band's appearance at Monterey, Janis was known only in parts of Texas and on the West Coast, especially around San Francisco, by fans of female blues singers.

During the festival several of Janis's landmark performances were captured on film before an audience that like the band was floating amid a sea of recreational drugs including LSD and Marijuana. Her performance of "Ball & Chain", appears in the film Monterey Pop while several of her other performances from Monterey would appear on the Cheap Thrills album.

Monterey Pop captures the exact moment in time when rock music pushed aside it's pop music roots and took the stage as musical force to be heard as it was intended, loud, angry, and full tilt. In the film you can actually see the look of amazement on the face of Mama Cass Elliot, the lead female vocalist of the pop group The Mamas and The Papas and until that moment the reigning queen of 60s pop music, as she witnessed Janis Joplin's landmark performance of "Ball & Chain".

Before Monterey, the leading pop groups of American popular music were acts like The Mamas and The Papas and The Association. After Monterey, it all changed. Performers such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin became legends overnight. The previous top selling acts were yesterday's news even before the last amplifier was unplugged.

To truly appreciate Janis Joplin's abilities as a rock/blues singer you really should make a point to see her performances that were captured in films such as Monterey Pop.

Janis Joplin's estate is currently searching for a female singer who can sing like Janis could and who would tour with the surviving members of the bands that backed Janis including Big Brother, The Kozmic Blues Band, and The Full Tilt Boogie Band.

Here is the link to the "Search for The Pearl". http://www.overtherhine.com/orchard/...php/t4502.html