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Janis Joplin

Is There Sadness?

  • Yes

    Votes: 56 52.8%

  • No

    Votes: 17 16.0%

  • There is only Carrots

    Votes: 33 31.1%
  • Total voters
    106
#44
mellowinman said:
We've had discussions about Janis before on this forum, but I wanted to make sure and be the lead post in this particular one.

I am going to say that Janis Joplin, as a singer, as an artist, as a performer is among the very elite; the very top of the field. It may surprise some readers, but her technical ability was a lot deeper than many people realize, and the depth of her feeling was perhaps as strong as anyone who ever lived.

It's easy to dismiss her chops, based on this or that overly whiskey soaked, uncontrolled, or too-high performance. That she had some bad nights cannot be denied. That her first band had very little musical ability or knowledge, or that she herself misunderstood her talent cannot be denied, but if you look at the Pearl album, where producer Paul Rothschild was able to help her to find her voice, her vocals on that are out of this world.

That is not to say she never had stellar moments before then; in fact Janis had goose-bump-inducing performance throughout her career. She was taking blues vocals to a place no one had before, and many would attempt to after her, but she really did and does own a special spotlight, that will always be hers alone. I've had people tell me someone is a dead ringer for Janis many times, and every single time I've heard it, I've said, "NO." Maybe close. Maybe really good. Maybe amazing. But no.

There are songs I hear; performances I experience by Janis that make me sob like a baby. That woman had a depth of sadness running through her that few people can imagine, and as a pure performer, she found a way to tap into it better than anyone I've ever known of. And that's what matters to me. I'm not a pure musician. I'm not talking about who achieves technical perfection, or masters the form. That's not what rock and roll is all about. I'm saying that your performance has to have some gravitas. Your performance has to matter.

And nobody ever did that better than Janis Joplin.
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I make you right, she was a rough diamond, same as Joe Cocker
 
#48
I guess the question would have been, "How long would it have been before her vocal chords would have fried" I played with a local singer before who could sing Janis like no tomorrow, but now has nodules on her chords. There is a certain amount (my opinion) of strain to sing like that. It is heart grabbing, but we will never know if she could have kept it going? I suppose like most the band would have been playing her songs down a step in later years.
 
#49
One_Dude said:
There are some songs that when recorded by a great performer should never be recorded again. Two examples of this for me are "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner, and "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin. There are none better.

Thump on,

One_Dude
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VoodooJazz said:
I'm with One_Dude on this one, at least for "Me And Bobby McGee". Every once in a blue moon at a jam, someone will call the tune, and I always think, "What's the point in even trying?" After Janis' performance, there is just no other way for that song to be heard. Spectacular.
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I guess that's why they have chocolate AND vanilla! ;) I agree about Proud Mary. And I love a lot of Janis Joplin's stuff. But I think Pink's version of "...Bobby McGee" is fantastic! Blew me away the first time I heard it. And what's more, I think JANIS would have loved it too!!
 
#52
two fingers said:
Many of the artists who took the world by storm had voices with character and souls that just pull(ed) you in.

Give me Janis, Joe Cocker, Sting, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Delbert, Johnny Cash, John Hiatt, Bonnie Raitt or Chris Stapleton any day. None of these people have what most would consider "beautiful" voices.

You can keep your Celine Dion, Mariah, Christina, etc.

I'll take soul or edge over vocal acrobatics every time.
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I always think of Peter Gabriel and Joe Jackson. Neither of them would win any voice contests either.

I can't believe I'm going to bring up "The Voice" in a thread like this. But, I think you just hit on a major reason why no winner of that show has ever experienced commercial success. The show, literally, favors voice quality over every other aspect of a performer's capability - to the extent that the judges have their backs turned to the contestants in the initial stages. Obviously you could hear Janis Joplin's gift without looking at her, but her experience was a complete experience, not just a vocal thing.
 
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Reactions: dangnewt and two fingers
#53
two fingers said:
Many of the artists who took the world by storm had voices with character and souls that just pull(ed) you in.

Give me Janis, Joe Cocker, Sting, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Delbert, Johnny Cash, John Hiatt, Bonnie Raitt or Chris Stapleton any day. None of these people have what most would consider "beautiful" voices.

You can keep your Celine Dion, Mariah, Christina, etc.

I'll take soul or edge over vocal acrobatics every time.
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^^this!!
 
#59
ToP fan said:
Ok let’s get back and talk about the music!

Haven’t seen her mentioned but when I think of the lost potential of JJ I go to my feelings about Amy Winehouse- for me the greatest loss of this generation- thoughts??

Dave
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Amy seemed cut out of the same cloth as Janis, what with the extreme glamorization of excess, and the exuded vibe of inevitable tragedy.

There was a little glimmer of hope that Janis would simmer down toward the end - she had a normal boyfriend who was committed to getting her out of the party life, who didn't oblige her to play the role of outrageous drunk -- he took her camping instead, something she claimed to never have done. Her closest friends urged her to cleave to the relationship, but Janis had an almost pathological fear of the normal, and only embraced her straight persona a few times, such as when she returned from San Francisco to Texas as a scabby speed freak after her first, exploratory visit out West. She came pretty close to the edge that time, and retreated to her librarian wardrobe and a demure persona. But that obviously wasn't her, as much as she wanted it to be -- a part of her was absolutely desperate for acceptance by Texas straights.
 
#60
There are protons and anti protons, electrons and anti electrons.. If they meet, they annihilate each other with an enormous burst of energy.

There was Janis Joplin and there was Karen Carpenter.........
 

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