''Janis'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

, released in 1993. The album features a broad overview of her career from her first recording in December 1962 to the last songs that she recorded during the sessions for ''

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

'' just a few days before her death in October 1970.

Critical reception

''Janis'' was voted the seventh-best

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

of 1993 in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''s annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics poll.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

, the poll's supervisor, called the album "a smart, audiowise set that not only gets Joplin's achievement right but helps us understand it".

Track listing

Disc one

# " What Good Can Drinkin' Do" – 2:45 (recorded in 1962, previously unreleased; a different version was released on the 1975 '' Janis'' album) # " Trouble in Mind" – 3:03 (recorded in 1965, previously unreleased; a different version was released on the 1975 ''Janis'' album) # "

Hesitation Blues "Hesitation Blues" is a popular song adapted from a traditional tune. One version was published by Billy Smythe, Scott Middleton, and Art Gillham. Another was published by W.C. Handy as "Hesitating Blues". Because the tune is traditional, many ...

" – 4:05 (recorded in 1965, previously unreleased) # "Easy Rider" – 2:24 ('' Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "Coo Coo" – 2:05 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "Down on Me" – 2:06 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "The Last Time" – 2:17 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "All Is Loneliness" – 2:19 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "Call on Me" – 3:37 (live, recorded in 1967, previously unreleased, original version released on ''Big Brother & the Holding Company'') # "Women Is Losers" – 5:08 (live, recorded in 1967, previously unreleased, original version released on ''Big Brother & the Holding Company'') # "Intruder" – 2:32 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "Light Is Faster than Sound" – 2:32 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "Bye, Bye Baby" – 2:39 (''Big Brother & the Holding Company'', 1967) # "Farewell Song" – 4:24 (previously unreleased, from the '' Cheap Thrills'' sessions) # "

Flower in the Sun "Flower in the Sun" is a psychedelic rock song by Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock ...

" – 3:13 ('' In Concert'', 1972) # "Misery'n" – 4:09 (previously unissued alternate take, from the ''Cheap Thrills'' sessions) # "Road Block" – 6:12 (live, previously unreleased, from the Monterey Pop Festival, 1967) # "Ball and Chain" – 8:07 (live, previously unreleased, from the Monterey Pop Festival, 1967)

Disc two

# "Combination of the Two" – 5:52 (''Cheap Thrills'', 1968) # "I Need a Man to Love" – 4:53 (''Cheap Thrills'', 1968) # "

Piece of My Heart "Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart ...

" – 4:28 (''Cheap Thrills'', 1968) # "Turtle Blues" – 4:30 (''Cheap Thrills'', 1968) # "Oh, Sweet Mary" – 4:16 (''Cheap Thrills'', 1968) # "Catch Me Daddy" – 4:56 (previously unreleased, from the ''Cheap Thrills'' sessions) # " Summertime" – 4:07 (previously unreleased alternate take, from the ''Cheap Thrills'' sessions) # "Kozmic Blues" – 4:24 (''

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! ''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'' is the debut solo and third studio album overall by American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, released on September 11, 1969, by Columbia Records. It was the first album which Joplin recorded after leavin ...

'', 1969) # "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" – 3:58 (''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'', 1969) # "One Good Man" – 4:11 (''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'', 1969) # "

Dear Landlord "Dear Landlord" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was recorded on November 29, 1967, at Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville, produced by Bob Johnston. The song was released on Dylan's album '' John Wesley Harding'' on Decem ...

" – 2:33 (previously unreleased, from the ''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'' sessions) # "To Love Somebody" – 5:19 (''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'', 1969) # "As Good as You've Been to This World" – 5:27 (''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'', 1969) # "Little Girl Blue" – 3:51 (''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'', 1969) # "Work Me, Lord" – 6:38 (''I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!'', 1969) # "

Raise Your Hand "Raise Your Hand" is a song written by Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, and Alvertis Isbell (Al Bell). It was recorded by Floyd and appeared on his 1967 debut album ''Knock on Wood''. It was released as a single that year, where it reached #16 on the ...

" – 2:17 (live, from ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', 1969) # "Maybe" – 4:07 (live, from ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', 1969)

Disc three

# "

Me and Bobby McGee "Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posth ...

" – 4:49 (alternate version) # "One Night Stand" – 3:10 (alternate take) # "Tell Mama" – 5:48 (live, from ''

Farewell Song ''Farewell Song'' is a 1982 collection of nine previously unreleased recordings of Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band, and Full Tilt Boogie Band. Tracks include '' Cheap Thrills''-era outtakes and live ...

'', 1982) # "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" – 8:16 (live, from ''In Concert'', 1972) # "Cry Baby" – 4:59 (previously unreleased, from the ''

'' sessions) # "Move Over" – 3:42 (''Pearl'', 1970) # "A Woman Left Lonely" – 3:29 (''Pearl'', 1970) # "Half Moon" – 3:53 (''Pearl'', 1970) # "Happy Birthday, John (Happy Trails)" – 1:10 (previously unreleased, recorded for

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

) # "My Baby" – 3:45 (''Pearl'', 1970) # "

Mercedes Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

" – 2:14 (''Pearl'', 1970, includes a previously unreleased longer spoken intro) # "Trust Me" – 3:17 (''Pearl'', 1970) # "Get It While You Can" – 3:25 (''Pearl'', 1970) # "

" – 4:29 (''Pearl'', 1970)

Certifications

References

{{Janis Joplin 1993 compilation albums Janis Joplin compilation albums Columbia Records compilation albums