Pearl (album)

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Pearl
Janis Joplin-Pearl (album cover).jpg
Studio album by Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band
Released January 11, 1971 (1971-01-11)
Recorded September 5 - October 3, 1970
Genre Blues rock, soul blues, psychedelic rock, funk rock
Length 34:10
Label Columbia
Producer Paul A. Rothchild
Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band chronology
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
(1969)I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!1969		 Pearl
(1971)		 In Concert
(1972)In Concert1972
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars [1]
Robert Christgau A–[2]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [3]
Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars [4]

Pearl is the second and final solo studio album by Janis Joplin, released posthumously on Columbia Records, catalogue KC 30322, in January 1971. It was also released simultaneously in a 4 channel Quadraphonic format in the U.S., catalogue number CQ 30322, and in Japan as SOPN 90 and a foil type cover with obi as SOPN 44005. It was the final album with her direct participation, and the only Joplin album recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, her final touring unit. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, holding that spot for nine weeks. It has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA.[5]

Content

The album has a more polished feel than the albums she recorded with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Kozmic Blues Band due to the expertise of producer Paul A. Rothchild and her new backing musicians. Rothchild was best known as the recording studio producer of The Doors, and worked well with Joplin, calling her a producer's dream. Together they were able to craft an album that showcased her extraordinary vocal talents. They used Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles.

The Full Tilt Boogie Band were the musicians who accompanied her on the Festival Express, a concert tour by train of Canada, in the summer of 1970. Many of the songs on this album were recorded on the concert stage in Canada two months before Joplin and the band started their Los Angeles recording sessions. The band also appeared twice on The Dick Cavett Show. They also played many American cities, both before and after Festival Express, although no recordings of those concerts have been officially released.

All nine tracks that she sings on were personally approved and arranged by Joplin. Pearl features the number one hit "Me and Bobby McGee", on which she played acoustic guitar, written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster; "Trust Me", by Bobby Womack, written for Joplin; Howard Tate's "Get It While You Can", showcasing her vocal range; and the original songs "Move Over" and "Mercedes Benz", the latter co-written by Joplin, Bobby Neuwirth and Michael McClure.

Joplin sang on all tracks except "Buried Alive in the Blues", which remained a Full Tilt Boogie instrumental because she died before adding vocals, but she approved the instrumental track. The recording sessions, starting in early September, ended with Joplin's untimely death on October 4, 1970. Her final session, which took place on Thursday, October 1 after a break of several days, yielded her a cappella "Mercedes Benz." It was the last song she recorded before her death. [6]

The album cover, photographed by Barry Feinstein in Los Angeles,[7][8] shows Joplin reclining on her Victorian era loveseat with a drink in her hand.[9]

Legacy

A reissue of Pearl remastered for CD was released August 31, 1999. It included four previously unreleased live recordings from the Festival Express Tour, recorded on July 4, 1970, as bonus tracks. In 2003, the album was ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[10] A two-disc Legacy Edition appeared on June 14, 2005, with bonus tracks including a birthday message to John Lennon of "Happy Trails," and a reunion of the Full Tilt Boogie Band in an instrumental tribute to Joplin. The second disc included an expanded set from the Festival Express Tour, recorded between June 28 and July 4, 1970.

The Pearl Sessions

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Main article: The Pearl Sessions

The album was reissued a third time on disc in 2012 as The Pearl Sessions. It contains alternate takes of the songs that constituted the Pearl vinyl album when Columbia Records released it in 1971. Recordings of Joplin and Paul Rothchild talking between takes give the listener insight into their creative musical process.

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Move Over"   Janis Joplin 3:39
2. "Cry Baby"   Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns 3:56
3. "A Woman Left Lonely"   Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham 3:27
4. "Half Moon"   John Hall, Johanna Hall 3:51
5. "Buried Alive in the Blues"   Nick Gravenites 2:24
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "My Baby"   Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman 3:44
2. "Me and Bobby McGee"   Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster 4:29
3. "Mercedes Benz"   Janis Joplin, Bob Neuwirth, Michael McClure 1:46
4. "Trust Me"   Bobby Womack 3:15
5. "Get It While You Can"   Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman (Howard Tate 1966 rendition) 3:23
2005 Legacy Edition bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
11. "Happy Birthday, John (Happy Trails)"   Dale Evans 1:12
12. "Me and Bobby McGee" (demo version) Kristofferson, Foster 4:46
13. "Move Over" (alternate version) Joplin 4:27
14. "Cry Baby" (alternate version) Ragovoy, Berns 4:59
15. "My Baby" (alternate version) Ragovoy, Shuman 3:59
16. "Pearl" (instrumental) Full Tilt Boogie Band 4:29
2005 Legacy Edition Disc Two - Live from the Festival Express Tour
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Tell Mama" (Toronto, June 28, 1970) Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell 6:49
2. "Half Moon" (Toronto) John Hall, Johanna Hall 4:38
3. "Move Over" (Calgary, July 4, 1970) Janis Joplin 4:41
4. "Maybe" (Winnipeg, July 1, 1970) Richard Barrett 3:57
5. "Summertime" (Winnipeg) Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin 4:39
6. "Little Girl Blue" (Calgary) Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart 5:10
7. "That's Rock 'n' Roll" (Toronto) Full Tilt Boogie Band 5:03
8. "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Toronto) Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor 9:11
9. "Kozmic Blues" (Toronto) Janis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler 5:29
10. "Piece of My Heart" (Toronto) Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns 5:21
11. "Cry Baby" (Toronto) Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns 6:31
12. "Get It While You Can" (Calgary) Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman 7:20
13. "Ball and Chain" (Calgary) Willie Mae Thornton 8:15

Personnel

Additional personnel

Produced by

  • Paul A. Rothchild - Productor
  • Phil Macy - engineer
  • Barry Feinstein & Tom Wilkes - Photography & Design for Camouflage Productions

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1971 Billboard 200 1
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart
Canadian RPM 100[11]

Sales certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[12] 4× Platinum 400,000
United States (RIAA)[5] 4× Platinum 4,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Janis Joplin & the Full Tilt Boogie Band: Pearl" at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/janis-joplin
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "United_StatesJanis_JoplinPearlalbumCertRef" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ The Story Behind Janis Joplin’s ‘Mercedes Benz’, WS Journal, 7/10/2015
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Los Angeles Times obituary for Barry Feinstein says he photographed Pearl album cover
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Achievements
Preceded by
Jesus Christ Superstar by Original Cast
 Billboard 200 number-one album
February 27–April 30, 1971		 Succeeded by
Jesus Christ Superstar by Original Cast
Preceded by Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
May 17–June 20, 1971		 Succeeded by
In Rock by Deep Purple
Preceded by
Jesus Christ Superstar by Original Cast
 RPM 100 number-one album
March 13–May 1, 1971		 Succeeded by
Love Story Soundtrack
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