Pearl is the fourth and final album by Janis Joplin, released on January 11, 1971— three months after her death from a heroin overdose. It is her first album recorded with Full Tilt Boogie Band.

History

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 producer of The Doors, and worked well with Joplin. Together they were able to craft an album that showcased her extraordinary vocal talents. The Full Tilt Boogie were the musicians who accompanied her on the famous Festival Express in the summer of 1970, and many of the songs on this album were introduced on the concert stage in Canada.

Pearl features the hits "Me and Bobby McGee," (commercially released with "Half Moon", another album cut, on the flipside) written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, and "Move Over," which she penned herself. Joplin sings on all of the tracks except for "Buried Alive in the Blues", which remained an instrumental because Janis died before being able to add her vocals. The recording sessions, which began in early September, ended with Joplin's untimely death on October 4, 1970. The iconic album cover shows Joplin reclining on her Victorian loveseat with a drink in her hand, conveying that this is Janis Joplin as she really is.http

In 2003, the album was ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Personnel

*Janis Joplin - vocals

*Clark Pierson - drums, background vocals

*Bobbye Hall - conga, percussion

*Phil Badella - background vocals

*Brad Campbell - bass

*Ken Pearson - organ

*Bobby Womack - acoustic guitar

*Richard Bell - piano

*Sandra Crouch - tambourine

*John Till - guitar

Chart positions

References

Category:1971 albums

Category:Albums produced by Paul A. Rothchild

Category:Columbia Records albums

Category:Janis Joplin albums

Category:Posthumous albums

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