Farewell Song

Performer: Janis Joplin
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Janis Joplin (vocals). Big Brother And The Holding Company: Sam Andrew, James Gurley (guitar); Peter Albin (bass); Dave Getz (drums). Full Tilt Boogie Band: John Till (guitar); Richard Bell (piano); Ken Pearson (organ); Brad Campbell (bass); Clark Pierson (drums). Kozmic Blues Band: Sam Andrew (guitar); Terry Clements (tenor saxophone); Cornelius "Snooky" Flowers (baritone saxophone); Luis Gasca (trumpet); Richard Kermode (organ); Brad Campbell (bass); Roy Markowitz (drums). Additional personnel: Denny Seiwell, Chrissy Stewart, Mick Weaver, Elliot Mazer, Roy Markowitz, Peter Stroud, Vinny De La Rocca. Producers: Elliot Mazer, John Simon, Todd Rundgren. Engineers include: Larry Keyes, Elliot Mazer, Fred Catero Recorded at Columbia Studio E, New York, New York on April 1 and in June 1968; Columbia Studio D, Los Angeles, California on March 28, 1970; Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan on March 1, 1968; Winterland, San Francisco, California on April 13, 1968; The Matrix, San Francisco, California on January 31, 1967; Frankfort, West Germany on April 12, 1969; Toronto, Canada on June 28, 1970. Includes liner notes by Country Joe McDonald. Janis Joplin expressed the pain of her existence in every nuance of her voice, and FAREWELL SONG is a highly confessional testimony to her short, tragic life. It contains six songs from her stint with Big Brother and three recorded after she departed their company. The live and studio recordings capture all the bitchiness, pathos and generosity of Joplin's voice and spirit, as well as the taint of self-destruction and tragedy that seemed destined to dog her until her early demise. The collection richly portrays the abandon that propelled Joplin to both worldwide fame and premature self-immolation. There's a bone-chilling version of the highly autobiographical "Misery'n" and the Todd Rundgren-produced "One Night Stand," the latter a portrait of the paranoia and confusion of the transient life of the star. Joplin's voice positively soars in this sadly revealing tune about the fleeting nature of love on the road. Also impressive are the vocally acrobatic "Catch Me Daddy" and the mournful title track. A goofy version of "Amazing Grace" is somewhat disappointing when one considers how Joplin could have wrapped her soulful voice around this spiritual hymn, but this collection is deeply satisfying in both its diversity and the intimacy of its autobiography.

Texas-born blues-rock singer Janis Joplin's sadly short career saw her change from coffehouse folkie into a feminist blues icon for the psychedelic '60s generation, all in the space of four years. Though she started out as a solo singer, it was as the frontwoman for Bay Area acid-blues-rockers Big Brother & The Holding Company that she skyrocketed to fame, her outsized voice, image, and personality making her natural star material. Eventually, she proved too big for the confines of Big Brother and went the solo route. A breakthrough album was recorded just before her early death, adding a tragic aura to her small body of work.

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