The Lost Tapes

Performer: Big Brother & the Holding Company
Producer: Dave Getz; Dave Getz
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Big Brother & the Holding Company: Peter Albin (vocals, bass instrument); Janis Joplin (vocals, maracas); James Gurley, Sam Andrew (guitar); David Getz (drums). Liner Note Authors: David Getz; Sam Andrew. Photographer: Bill Brach. This collection of rare early live performances by San Francisco's psychedelic blues-rock legends Big Brother & the Holding Company will be manna from heaven for fans of Big Brother frontwoman Janis Joplin. While disc two of the double-disc set contains the 1966 concert recording previously released as CHEAPER THRILLS (the sound quality here is much improved), the first disc contains live material of the same vintage that has never before been released. Over the course of both, you can hear the group's sound coalescing and Joplin gradually turning into the grand dame of Bay Area blues belters, bulldozing everything from Jimmy Reed's "Hi Heel Sneakers" to the folk standard "Coo Coo."

Big Brother and the Holding Company was the group that backed 1960s blues-rock siren Janis Joplin. Their hallucinogenic charm lies in the gulf between the roots music they loved and the electrically charged, psychedelic-tinged music they actually played. Brimming with casual confidence and empowered by a sense of community, this band mixed free-spirited innovation with total honesty and commitment. At the end of the decade, Joplin departed for a solo career, though she would tragically depart from the world itself soon after.

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