"Pearl" is the fourth album by Janis Joplin, released posthumously on Columbia Records, in January 1971. 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. The Full Tilt Boogie Band were the musicians who accompanied her on the famous train tour of Canada, Festival Express, in the summer of 1970, and many of the songs on this album were introduced on the concert stage in Canada. Janis Joplin's second masterpiece after "Cheap Thrills", "Pearl" was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out. Thanks also to a more consistent set of songs, the results are magnificent given room to breathe, Joplin's trademark rasp conveys an aching, desperate passion on funked-up, bluesy rockers, ballads both dramatic and tender, and her signature song, the posthumous number one hit "Me and Bobby McGee." The unfinished "Buried Alive in the Blues" features no Joplin vocals she was scheduled to record them on the day after she was found dead. Its incompleteness mirrors Joplin's career; Pearl's power leaves the listener to wonder what else Joplin could have accomplished, but few artists could ask for a better final statement.
Tracklist
01. Move Over (Janis Joplin) - 3:43
02. Cry Baby (Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns) - 3:58
03. A Woman Left Lonely (Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham) - 3:29
04. Half Moon (John Hall, Johanna Hall) - 3:53
05. Buried Alive in the Blues (Nick Gravenites) - 2:29
06. My Baby (Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman) - 3:26
07. Me and Bobby McGee (Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster) - 4:33
08. Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin, Bob Neuwirth, Michael McClure) - 1:48
09. Trust Me (Bobby Womack) - 3:17
10. Get It While You Can (Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman) - 3:27
Released: January 11, 1971
Genre: Blues Rock
Length: 34:10
Label: Columbia
Producer: Paul A. Rothchild
Personnel
Janis Joplin – vocals, guitar on "Me and Bobby McGee"
Richard Bell – piano
Ken Pearson – organ
John Till – electric guitar
Brad Campbell – bass guitar
Clark Pierson – drums
Bobby Womack – acoustic guitar on "Trust Me"
Bobbye Hall – conga, percussion
Phil Badella, John Cooke, Vince Mitchell – backing vocals
Sandra Crouch – tambourine
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