Janis Joplin

Even if Janis Joplin isn't around to defend herself or collect royalties, she's far luckier than
most gone-but-still-under-contract stars, because Farewell Song, her "new" LP, is a good
record. Unfortunately, Joplin joins the ranks of artists whose work has been exhumed in
an orgy of necrophilia that does neither rock & roll nor its aficionados any favors. Though
Farewell Song's nine cuts, salvaged from various live shows and studio sessions (... More >

The title tune, the last she recorded with Big Brother and the best original here, is tamer than the dullest cut on Cheap Thrills, which like all her Big Brother music thrived on sheer hippie farout get-down weirdness. Four of the five other Big Brother tracks are Cheap Thrills rejects, while "One Night Stand" and the rap that interrupts a quite decent "Tell Mama" are predictable crows of sexual pragmatism. Verdict: deceased. (Grade: B-)