Jump to content

2CD set of Big Brother and Holding Company


felser

Recommended Posts

Saw this on theseconddisc.com.  2CD set ot 30 cuts of demos and outtakes from "Cheap Thrills".   $13.96 for pre-order on Amazon.  I'm in.

https://theseconddisc.com/2018/09/another-little-piece-of-my-heart-unreleased-big-brother-demos-abound-on-sex-dope-and-cheap-thrills/

 

Another Little Piece Of My Heart: Unreleased Big Brother Demos Abound on ‘Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills’

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 BY THE SECOND DISC LEAVE A COMMENT

Big-Brother-Sex-Dope-and-Cheap-Thrills.j

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

Adorned with a Robert Crumb cover, Big Brother and The Holding Company’s 1968 album Cheap Thrillsmarked the end of an era for the band.  It was Big Brother’s second and final album with lead singer Janis Joplin, whose incendiary talents were simply too big for any one band.  Cheap Thrills, produced by John Simon, remains a touchstone for pulse-pounding blues-rock.  Lead guitarist Sam Andrew, guitarist James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer David Getz unleashed one of the most distinctive vocalists of all time on such tracks as the powerful “Piece of My Heart” and the striking reinventions of George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward’s “Summertime” and Big Mama Thornton’s “Ball and Chain.”  Now, Legacy Recordings has revisited the original sessions for the new collection entitled Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills – the album’s original name nixed by Columbia Records 50 years ago.  Set for release on November 30, this 30-track 2-CD or 16-track 2-LP set features demos, outtakes and alternate takes, almost all of which are previously unreleased.

Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills kicks off with what amounts to an alternate version of the chart-topping, double-platinum album, with versions of all seven of its original tracks presented in sequence plus the brief “Harry.”  It then features a live “Ball and Chain” from the band’s April 12, 1968 Winterland gig; the outtakes “Roadblock” and “Flower in the Sun,” a jam on “How Many Times,” and additional songs like “Magic of Love,” “Catch Me Daddy,” “Turtle Blues,” and “Farewell Song.”  Almost every track is presented in an unheard version.  Just a handful of tracks are previously issued including Take 2 of “Summertime,” first released on the 1993 box set Janis; Take 1 of “Roadblock” from the 1999 expanded edition of Cheap Thrills; and Take 1 of “Magic of Love” from 2010’s Move Over!, a vinyl-only Record Store Day limited edition.  Two more first takes (“It’s a Deal” and “Easy Once You Know How”) were originally released on Box of Pearls.

Liner notes have been penned by Big Brother’s David Getz and the legendary Grace Slick.  Look for this generous helping of Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings on CD, vinyl, and digital platforms on November 30!  Pre-orders are open now atJanisJoplin.com and links will soon go active at Amazon!

Big Brother and The Holding Company, Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills (Columbia/Legacy, 2018)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD

2CD:

CD 1

  1. Combination Of The Two (Take 3)
  2. I Need a Man To Love (Take 4)
  3. Summertime (Take 2) *
  4. Piece Of My Heart (Take 6)
  5. Harry (Take 10)
  6. Turtle Blues (Take 4)
  7. Oh, Sweet Mary
  8. Ball and Chain (Live from Winterland, 4/12/68)
  9. Roadblock (Take 1) *
  10. Catch Me Daddy (Take 1)
  11. It’s a Deal (Take 1) *
  12. Easy Once You Know How (Take 1) *
  13. How Many Times Blues Jam
  14. Farewell Song (Take 7)

CD 2

  1. Flower in the Sun (Take 3)
  2. Oh Sweet Mary
  3. Summertime (Take 1)
  4. Piece of My Heart (Take 4)
  5. Catch Me Daddy (Take 9)
  6. Catch Me Daddy (Take 10)
  7. I Need a Man to Love (Take 3)
  8. Harry (Take 9)
  9. Farewell Song (Take 4)
  10. Misery’n (Takes 2 & 3)
  11. Misery’n (Take 4)
  12. Magic Of Love (Take 1) *
  13. Turtle Blues (Take 9)
  14. Turtle Blues (Last Verse, Takes 1-3)
  15. Piece of My Heart (Take 3)
  16. Farewell Song (Take 5)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wish this was released 20-25 years back when most CDs, rock in particular, weren't compressed to un-listenable levels. Now I'll have to wait for the reviews to find out if the mastering engineer did it right for a change.

BTW, I'm in the same boat with the new John Lennon "Imagine" box set that's due to release soon. I want to hear it but I don't want to buy a sonic morass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think 50 year old demos and outtakes are going to be sonic delights regardless.  But this is so in my wheelhouse, I wouldn't miss it for anything.  BTW, "900 Nights" is as good a rock documentary as I have ever seen.  Well worth your hour and $10 if you are even remotely interested in Big Brother, Joplin, or the late-60's San Francisco music scene.

51XsG65b4WL.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills 

Yeah...how's that working out for everybody these days?

It worked out for a short while but sadly not very long for Janis. Certainly it was an accepted lifestyle for many of that incredible era (including me although 10 years later and only the drug portion) and certainly it is unarguable that certain effects of some drugs (pot & acid, IMO) helped in the creation of some of the greatest most creative music of the 20th century / but reality shows us that’s it’s been pretty much “downhill from there”. Cheap Thrills ended up being pretty fucking expensive. I should know.

Not working out at all today for a whole bunch of suffering drug addicts that I know.

Edited by Steve Reynolds
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Steve Reynolds said:

It worked out for a short while but sadly not very long for Janis. Certainly it was an accepted lifestyle for many of that incredible era (including me although 10 years later and only the drug portion) and certainly it is unarguable that certain effects of some drugs (pot & acid, IMO) helped in the creation of some of the greatest most creative music of the 20th century / but reality shows us that’s it’s been pretty much “downhill from there”. Cheap Thrills ended up being pretty fucking expensive. I should know.

Not working out at all today for a whole bunch of suffering drug addicts that I know.

Yep.  I don't recommend/condone the lifestyle,  just the music.    Don't recommend/condone the lifestyle of Charlie Parker or Mozart either.

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Great article, thanks.

Edited by felser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never cared that much for the band, the singer, the record, or the title. But it fit at the time, so, ok, sure, we were all going to live forever or else die trying, so, you know, screw consequences, never mind the global responsibility that comes with personal irresponsibility. But using this title in these times seems terribly tone-deaf (even if it's being used with full-frontal irony, which I very much doubt).

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, JSngry said:

I never cared that much for the band, the singer, the record, or the title. But it fit at the time, so, ok, sure, we were all going to live forever or else die trying, so, you know, screw consequences, never mind the global responsibility that comes with personal irresponsibility. But using this title in these times seems terribly tone-deaf (even if it's being used with full-frontal irony, which I very much doubt).

 

Agree so much I can barely stand it. Especially since Janis was dead from said “Dope” with a couple of years. Plus when we grew up we referred to marijuana as “Dope”. Today everyone one knows that “Dope” is heroin which is a huge problem today - probably a bigger problem in this society than it's ever been before.

plus Janis Joplin fucking died from a Heroin overdose. 

Tone Deaf? Idiocy included at no extra charge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Received this Friday and am playing it now.  Despite the understandable concern over the title (which was the originally proposed title for the "Cheap Thrills" album, hence the use here), the music, sound, and booklet are excellent if you were/are a fan.  Four albums worth of material (about 135 minutes) for $13 Amazon Prime.  I don't recommend the lifestyle, but I do recommend the music.

https://www.amazon.com/Cheap-Thrills-Brother-Holding-Company/dp/B07HC3VFGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1544036897&sr=1-1&keywords=big+brother+dope

Update:  Sound is variable, slightly dodgy (but totally listenable) on some of the outtakes, but superb on other material.

 

Edited by felser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was a fan and the title doesn't bother me because it more or less reflects those times.  I'm sure some of us could relate, in some way, to the activities reflected in the title.  Did some pot, not enough sex and probably a couple of dumb thrills along the way.  

I may check out the cd.  

Edited by Brad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...