Product Code: ZMU980287263
Original price was: $59.99.$30.00Current price is: $30.00.Janis Joplinwouldn't be denied onPearl. The powerhouse vocalist had kicked her addictions, teamed with a stupendous band, and partnered with a producer that knew how to best showcase her voice on record. She came to the sessions with an armload of astonishing songs, and a burst of creative energy that mirrored her rejuvenated emotional state and undeniable spirit. You can hear it on every note of the 1971 record. Ranked #135 onRolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Timelist, Pearl sold more than four million copies and stands as the first female rock superstar's definitive studio work.Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP presents the lasting artwork in absorbing sound.
Mastered from the original master tapes, cut at 45RPM, and pressed on dead-quiet vinyl at RTI, the iconic audiophile label'sreissue takes Joplin and Co.'s stupendous performances to transcendent levels. Boasting a fidelity that further magnifies the singer's passion and producerPaul A. Rothchild's clear production, this pressing benefits from increased spaciousness, dynamics, and openness afforded by the wider grooves.Joplin's husky, strong, and penetrating singing sounds especially vibrant or makes deep emotional connections.Warm, organic, and free of any artificial ceilings, this version lets you step into Sunset Sound Recorders with the performers, such is the degree of realism and authenticity. Indeed, few, if any words, describeJoplinbetter than "authentic," and her spirit comes to life on this 2LP set in positively gripping fashion.
WhileJoplin's electrifying vocal prowess is universally lauded she's recognized asthegreatest white female blues singer the world has ever seen her mix of compassion, confidence, and charm play as large a role in attracting listeners and keeping them ensnared more than four decades after her tragic death. And onPearl, she burrows into deeper stylistic veins, teasing out sides of her persona and craft she'd never previously displayed. Her signature desperation, sadness, and vulnerability remain the harrowing, lonely wail that begins her soul-ravishing take onJerry Ragovoy's "Cry Baby," underlined with a Wall of Sound-like piano accompaniment, could only come from a person severely scarred by loss and disappointment yetJoplin also reveals a sense of humor and beatnik innocence that helped propel the album to the top of the charts for nine straight weeks.
Playfully introduced as "a song of great social and political import," the acapella "Mercedes Benz" reflectsJoplin's throaty timbre as well as her enhanced, sunnier mood. Similarly, her definitive read ofKris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" signals a laidback demeanor and a move into country strains, with the delivery as natural, carefree, and loving as any in the rock canon. As she does throughout the record,Joplin invests her all in the narrative so that there's no line between the performer and the song.She makes everything onPearlfeel autobiographical, and by extension, gut-wrenchingly honest, and devastatingly intimate.Joplinachieved these feats often during her brief career, yet there are differences onPearl, chiefly among them herbalance of impeccable timing and raw emotion. Heart-aching anthems such as "A Woman Left Lonely" offer both grit and control, subtlety and attack, resulting in cathartic releases distinguished with originality, personality, and instinctual passion.
Pearlremains Joplin's finest hour, with credit also owed to the Full Tilt Boogie Band the only group she ever considered to be her own as well as theDoorsalum that sat behind the boards.Joplin and Rothchildboth admitted to sharing a common bond and understanding, with the latter inheriting the role of teacher andJoplin, a willing student ready to discover how she could use her voice in new, more expressive ways. The fruits of the pair's labors fillPearl, be it the guardedly optimistic "Get It While You Can" or assertive, fleet-footed "Move Over."
Experienced in the new light brought to fore by this reference-grade Mobile Fidelity edition,Joplin's swan song is no longer about a masterpiece that its creator never lived to see finished. Rather, it's about a once-in-a-lifetime vocalist realizing mammoth potential and wringing passion out of every note. It's not a tragedy, but a triumph.Get it while you can.
