There are times when the sound system fails Joplin and her voice distorts, yet even on those occasions when you can't understand what she is singing, you can still feel what she is singing about. When you listen to this concert, listen to the timber of her voice and the slight catches in it as she becomes momentarily chocked by what she is trying to express. In the world of popular music where singers have long been discouraged from showing anything close to real emotion and lyrics are designed to say nothing of substance, Janis Joplin was an anomaly. She felt everything she was singing about, and only sung about those things important to her. In her you were able to hear the potential for music to be a catharsis for those listening as well as performing, for you could not come away unmoved after hearing her sing.
If you've never heard Janis Joplin sing, than Janis Joplin: The Woodstock Experience offers an amazing opportunity to experience her at the peak of her professional prowess. For the rest of us, this package is a reminder of what a truly unique and amazing performer she was. Just be careful she doesn't take a little piece of your heart.
Article comments
1 - Skip Young
Mr. Marcus,
The reason Janis was not included in the Woodstock movie and soundtrack is that they were released shortly after her untimely death in 1970. The record companies thought that her passing and the drug connotations of it were too risky for the general public to accept. I agree wholeheartedly with your assesment of her talents. I had the privilege of seeing her twice in my life. Once with Big Brother on the farewell tour in Dallas, one night before the final show in Texas and at the Texas International Pop Festival in Lewisville, Texas in 1969 with the Kosmic Blues Band she had at Woodstock. No better singer around in that day and time. She was one of a kind for sure.
Skip Young