Record label: Varèse Vintage
Catalogue number: 302 066 344 2
Year: 2002
Country: USA

Tracklist

01 C'mon Baby Let the Good Times Roll (Leonard Lee)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
02 I Know You Rider (Trad. arr. by Big Brother & The Holding Co)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
03 Moanin' at Midnight (Chester Burnett)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
04 Hey Baby (Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, Dave Getz, James Gurley, Janis Joplin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
05 Down On Me (Eddy Head, arr. Janis Joplin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
06 Whisperman (Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, Dave Getz, James Gurley, Janis Joplin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
07 Women Is Losers (Janis Joplin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
08 Blow My Mind (Jimmy McCracklin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
09 Oh, My Soul (Richard Penniman)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
10 Ball and Chain (Willie Mae Thornton)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
11 Coo Coo (Peter Albin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
12 Gutra's Garden (Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, David Getz, James Gurley, Janis Joplin)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
13 Harry (Dave Getz)
1966-07-28 California Hall, San Francisco
14 Hall Of The Mountain King
1967-04-25 KQED TV Studios, San Francisco

Playing time: 00:48:27

Концертный альбом Big Brother и Холдинговой компании с Дженис Джоплин в качестве солистки. Записанный вживую на одном из их первых концертов в Сан-Франциско в California Hall 28 июля 1966 года, он включает в себя исполнение группой песни "Let the Good Times Roll", которой в то время было десять лет. Запись этого концерта впервые стала официально доступна публике в 1984 году. Пластинка первоначально была выпущена лейблом Rhino Records под названием RNLP 121. Барабанщик Big Brother Дэвид Гетц подготовил и сопроводил примечания к задней обложке своими личными воспоминаниями об обстоятельствах, приведших к образованию и успеху группы.

Хронологически этот материал был записан до их первого альбома на Mainstream Records в 1967 году. Некоторые из треков здесь также появились на первом студийном альбоме. Исполнение в Монтерее было немного более отточенным, этот диск является хорошим дополнением, на нем игра более рваная. Трек «Coo Coo» появился на альбоме «Cheap Thrills» с новым названием «Oh Sweet Mary».

Reviewer: Craig T. Case (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States)
Chronlogically this was recorded before their first album on Mainstream Records in 1967. Some of the tracks here also appeared on that first studio album. So how is it? The Monterey performance was a little more polished but this disc is a nice addition although the playing is a little more ragged. The track "Coo Coo" appeared on the "Cheap Thrills" album with new lyrics as "Oh Sweet Mary". If you have all of Janis's other discs I would pick this one up; you won't be disappointed and it is interesting to hear the band in their formative stage.

This captures one of Janis' first gigs with Big Brother, from July 29, 1966 in San Francisco, and features a lot of tunes they never recorded as well as a bonus 1967 performance of Hall of the Mountain King! Big Brother David Getz contributes liners!

Recorded on July 28, 1966, before the band had cut any studio material, this performance was one of Janis Joplin's first gigs with Big Brother. The sound is decent, with several famous staples of their repertoire already in place: "Down on Me," "Coo-Coo," and "Ball and Chain." Yet, in comparison with their best studio and live recordings from 1967 and 1968, this is a bit limp. Big Brother was never noted for their polish, but made up for that with reckless bravado; however, that's largely missing at this juncture in their development, which finds them sounding somewhat tentative in their adaptation of R&B and garage band ethos to heavy guitar arrangements. Big Brother was never noted for their songwriting ability either, and this set is pretty reliant on R&B staples like "Let the Good Times Roll" and "I Know You Rider"; the unabashedly psychedelic workout "Gutra's Garden" hasn't aged well at all. Joplin's vocals are fairly strong, but these early versions of "Down on Me" and, especially, "Ball and Chain" don't hold a candle to her performances of the same tunes at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Other members of the band take the lead vocal on a few numbers, emphatically proving -- as they always did when given a chance -- that Joplin was necessary to put them on the map. This show is an interesting glimpse into the group's formative days, though, and features eight songs not on their late-'60s albums. This set of material was first released in 1984 as Cheaper Thrills, and since then it's been around on various labels under various titles. The 2002 Varese Sarabande edition differs from previous iterations only in that it adds a live version of "Hall of the Mountain King," recorded at television station KQED in San Francisco on April 25, 1967 (a pretty cool cut, though it's been long available as part of the Ball and Chain video, which includes the entire half-hour set).

Line-up / Musicians:

- Janis Joplin / Vocals, Maracas
- Peter Albin / Bass and Vocals
- Sam Andrew / Guitar
- David Getz / Drums
- James Gurley / Guitar

Notes
Live
N. CDs: 1
Note: Same as Cheaper Thrills CD
Bonus track (Only on CD Acadia ADA 8001):
13 Hall of the mountain King (6:49) - Recorded KQED TV Studios San Francisco, April 25, 1967