Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills

I love the fact that this album was originally supposed to be called “Dope, Sex and Cheap Thrills”! What a perfectly appropriate title for this acid-blues record!

Ever since I first heard them, I’ve been a fan of Big Brother and the crazed, psychedelic guitar playing that literally sounds like an acid trip! These cats were as real as they get and adding Janis Joplin to the mix was the perfect final ingredient. A screwed up, slightly homely (though strangely sexy) loner from Texas who was laughed out of town, Janis lived the blues that she sang. She was never as confident as she appeared on stage and those of us with similar childhoods could relate to her extravagant onstage persona as much as the shy schoolgirl she appeared to be off stage.

This record to me is the ultimate Big Brother recording – not that many people would disagree with me on that one! Fantastic songs throughout, insane playing, great arrangements – if you wanted to show someone what the “psychedelic 60’s” was all about, this would be one of the best examples.

Janis was by far the star at this point in their career, but the band was a San Francisco favorite before she joined, and everyone sang during their sets. This record opens with “Combination of the 2” with Sam Andrews on lead vocals. But Janis is right there behind him, just itching to show what she could do, and show it she does on “I Need a Man To Love”! She puts herself right out there on the line, pleading for love, while guitars slash and sting and shriek around her. “It just can’t be loneliness surrounding me” – is there anyone who couldn’t relate to that sentiment? The call and answer of “can’t be – oh no” and “it just can’t be – no it just can’t be” couldn’t be more plaintive.

Sam’s arrangement of “Summertime” comes next and is a masterpiece! The twin guitar lines are astoundingly beautiful as Janis croons with her Southern Comfort-soaked voice over the multiple melodies. The tones change instantaneously from fierce to melancholy and I can’t imagine anyone being unmoved after hearing this.

Their hit from the record is “Piece of my Heart”, which has Janis bemoaning her dependence on her man and willingness to give him anything. It is another classic, but it really isn’t as heartfelt (so to speak!) as some of their other pieces on this record.

“Turtle Blues” is an acoustic piano roadhouse blues, “Oh Sweet Mary” is an under-rated song (probably because Joplin is not singing lead) that has many interesting turns, but these are basically just lead-ins to the showstopper – “Ball and Chain”. Wow! This is the pure definition of psychedelic blues! NOISY fuzz guitars lead into Janis sweetly singing the first verse and building up to the ultra-powerful chorus with the band and JJ literally pounding out the “tell me why” section. The dynamics and tension that builds and releases throughout the song are pure sex – sweet yet rough, simultaneously passionate and fierce – and the band blends perfectly with the vocals. James Gurley’s lead is absolute magic! In the Monterrey movie Janis is the focal point, but this is a full band effort – as evidenced by much weaker versions done by her later bands which aren’t a fraction as powerful as this. Big Mama Thorton should be damn proud!

The CD version has bonus tracks including a fairly forgettable Big Brother number “Roadblock” and “Flower in the Sun” (with a fine guitar break from – presumably – Sam Andrews, who wrote the tune), both outtakes from the Cheap Thrills sessions and not really missed from the original release. Of more interest are two songs recorded live at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit – good tunes, but again, I wouldn’t say that they were essential. Nice additions to the CD, though.

Fans of living-on-the-edge psychedelic rock’n’roll probably already own this record, but if you’re looking for a Janis Joplin record that personifies everything that she stood for, this is the one!

Unfortunately for r’n’r history, shortly after this record was released, she left Big Brother and formed the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band due to her insecurities and critics’ unfounded claims of BB’s lack of instrumental proficiency. These new groups were both fine aggregations and they put out some good music, but nothing that can close to the power, the magic, the originality, and the passion of Big Brother.