Pearl (Janis Joplin album)

1971 studio album by Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band

Pearl

Studio album by

Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band

Released| January 11, 1971 (1971-01-11)
Recorded| July 27 - October 4, 1970
Studio| Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre|

* Blues rock
* soul blues

Length| 34:09
Label| Columbia
Producer| Paul A. Rothchild
Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band chronology
| I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
(1969)  | Pearl
(1971)  | In Concert
(1972)

|
|

Singles from  Pearl

1. "Me and Bobby McGee / Half Moon"
Released: January 12, 1971
2. "Cry Baby / Mercedes Benz"
Released: April 23, 1971
3. "Get It While You Can / Move Over"
Released: August 21, 1971

Pearl is the second and final solo studio album (and fourth album overall) by American singer Janis Joplin, released on January 11, 1971, by Columbia Records. The album was released three months after Joplin's death on October 4, 1970. It was the final album with Joplin's direct participation, and her only album recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, her final touring unit. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, holding that spot for nine weeks. Pearl has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[1] It was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[2]

## Content

[edit]

The album has a more polished sound than those Joplin recorded with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Kozmic Blues Band, due to the expertise of producer Paul A. Rothchild and new backing musicians. Rothchild was best-known as the recording studio producer of The Doors and worked well with Joplin, calling her a "producer's dream". Together they were able to craft an album showcasing her extraordinary vocal talents; they used Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles.

The Full Tilt Boogie Band were the musicians who accompanied her on the Festival Express, a concert tour of Canada by train, in the summer of 1970. Many of the songs on this album were recorded on the concert stage in Canada two months before Joplin and the band started their LA recording sessions. The band also appeared twice on The Dick Cavett Show and played many American cities before and after Festival Express, though no recordings of those concerts were officially released.

All nine tracks Joplin sings on were personally approved and arranged by Joplin. Pearl features the #1 hit "Me and Bobby McGee", written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster (Joplin played acoustic guitar on this track); "Trust Me", by Bobby Womack, written for Joplin; Howard Tate's "Get It While You Can", showcasing her vocal range; and the original songs "Move Over" and "Mercedes Benz", the latter co-written by Joplin, Bobby Neuwirth, and Michael McClure.

Joplin sang on all tracks except "Buried Alive in the Blues", which was a backing track on which she had not yet recorded vocals. The song's writer Nick Gravenites was offered the chance to sing it as a tribute to Joplin but turned it down, so the song ended up as an instrumental. He later sang it with Joplin’s former band Big Brother and the Holding Company for their 1971 album How Hard It Is. The recording sessions, starting in early September, ended with Joplin's untimely death in 1970. Her final session, which took place Thursday, October 1 after a break of several days, yielded her a cappella "Mercedes Benz." It was the last song she recorded before her death.[3] The album cover, photographed by Barry Feinstein in Los Angeles,[4][5] shows Joplin reclining on her Victorian era loveseat with a drink in her hand.[6]

## Release and reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic|  [7]
Rolling Stone| (favorable) [8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide|  [9]
The Village Voice| A−[10]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[11] moving to 125 in a 2012 revised listing.[12] It was moved to a 259 ranking in the 2020 list. In 2010, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[13]

### Reissues

[edit]

In 1993 Columbia reissued the album on 24kt gold CD as part of their MasterSound series, this edition was remastered by Vic Anesini using the Super Bit Mapping process.[14] In 1999 it was remastered again for the Box Of Pearls box set, this version was also mastered by Vic Anesini, it included four previously unreleased live recordings from the Festival Express Tour, recorded on July 4, 1970, as bonus tracks; it was also released as a standalone release.[15] A two-disc Legacy Edition was released on June 14, 2005, with six bonus tracks including a birthday message to John Lennon of "Happy Trails," and a reunion of the Full Tilt Boogie Band in an instrumental tribute to Joplin. The second disc included an expanded set from the Festival Express Tour, recorded between June 28 and July 4, 1970. The album was again reissued again in 2012 as The Pearl Sessions. It contains the original album, six mono mixes, two live tracks and alternate takes of the songs that constituted the Pearl vinyl album when Columbia Records released it in 1971. Recordings of Joplin and Paul Rothchild talking between takes give the listener insight into their creative musical process. In 2016 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released the album on SACD and double 45 RPM vinyl, the SACD was mastered by Rob LoVerde while the vinyl was cut by Kreig Wunderlich assisted by LoVerde.[16][17]

## Track listing

[edit]

Side oneNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Move Over"| Janis Joplin| 3:39
2.| "Cry Baby"| Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns| 3:55
3.| "A Woman Left Lonely"| Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham| 3:27
4.| "Half Moon"| John Hall, Johanna Hall| 3:51
5.| "Buried Alive in the Blues"| Nick Gravenites| 2:24

Side twoNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "My Baby"| Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman| 3:44
2.| "Me and Bobby McGee"| Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster| 4:28
3.| "Mercedes Benz"| Janis Joplin, Bob Neuwirth, Michael McClure| 1:46
4.| "Trust Me"| Bobby Womack| 3:15
5.| "Get It While You Can"| Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman (Howard Tate 1966 rendition)| 3:23

1999 bonus tracksNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

11.| "Tell Mama" (Festival Express Tour, July 4, 1970)| Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell| 6:32
12.| "Little Girl Blue" (Festival Express Tour, July 4, 1970)| Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart| 3:50
13.| "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Festival Express Tour, July 4, 1970)| Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor| 6:52
14.| "Cry Baby" (Festival Express Tour, July 4, 1970)| Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns| 6:29

2005 Legacy Edition bonus tracksNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

11.| "Happy Birthday, John (Happy Trails)"| Dale Evans| 1:12
12.| "Me and Bobby McGee" (demo version)| Kristofferson, Foster| 4:46
13.| "Move Over" (alternate version)| Joplin| 4:27
14.| "Cry Baby" (alternate version)| Ragovoy, Berns| 4:59
15.| "My Baby" (alternate version)| Ragovoy, Shuman| 3:59
16.| "Pearl" (instrumental)| Full Tilt Boogie Band| 4:29

2005 Legacy Edition Disc Two - Live from the Festival Express TourNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Tell Mama" (Toronto, June 28, 1970)| Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell| 6:49
2.| "Half Moon" (Toronto)| John Hall, Johanna Hall| 4:38
3.| "Move Over" (Calgary, July 4, 1970)| Janis Joplin| 4:41
4.| "Maybe" (Winnipeg, July 1, 1970)| Richard Barrett| 3:57
5.| "Summertime" (Winnipeg)| Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin| 4:39
6.| "Little Girl Blue" (Calgary)| Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart| 5:10
7.| "That's Rock 'n' Roll" (Toronto)| Full Tilt Boogie Band| 5:03
8.| "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Toronto)| Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor| 9:11
9.| "Kozmic Blues" (Toronto)| Janis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler| 5:29
10.| "Piece of My Heart" (Toronto)| Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns| 5:21
11.| "Cry Baby" (Toronto)| Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns| 6:31
12.| "Get It While You Can" (Calgary)| Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman| 7:20
13.| "Ball and Chain" (Calgary)| Willie Mae Thornton| 8:15

## Personnel

[edit]

Full Tilt Boogie Band

* Janis Joplin – vocals, acoustic guitar on "Me and Bobby McGee"
* Richard Bell – piano
* Ken Pearson – Hammond organ
* John Till – electric guitar
* Brad Campbell – bass guitar
* Clark Pierson – drums

Additional personnel

* Bobby Womack – acoustic guitar on "Trust Me"
* Bobbye Hall – bongos, congas
* Phil Badella, John Cooke, Vince Mitchell – backing vocals
* Sandra Crouch – tambourine

Technical

* Paul A. Rothchild – producer
* Phil Macy – engineer
* Vic Anesini – mastering for 1999 reissue, 2005 Legacy edition and The Pearl Sessions 2012 edition
* Barry Feinstein, Tom Wilkes – photography and design for Camouflage Productions

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for Pearl | Chart (1971–2024)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[18] | 1
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] | 1
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[20] | 39
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] | 3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[23] | 83
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] | 1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[25] | 24
UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 20
US Billboard 200[27] | 1

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for Pearl | Chart (1971)  | Position

|

Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] | 7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] | 7
US Billboard 200[30] | 4

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[31] | 4× Platinum  | 400,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[32]
1990 release  | Gold  | 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] | Silver  | 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[1] | 4× Platinum  | 4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "American album certifications – Janis Joplin – Pearl". Recording Industry Association of America.
2. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 31, 2023.
3. ^ The Story Behind Janis Joplin’s ‘Mercedes Benz’, WS Journal, 7/10/2015
4. ^ McClellan, Dennis (October 21, 2011). "Barry Feinstein dies at 80; rock music photographer". Los Angeles Times.
5. ^ Los Angeles Times obituary for Barry Feinstein says he photographed Pearl album cover
6. ^ Gartner, Paul (July 7, 2005). "Janis Joplin: "Pearl"". New Sounds. thegazz.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008.
7. ^ Huey, Steve. "Janis Joplin & the Full Tilt Boogie Band: Pearl" at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
8. ^ Shadoian, Jack (February 18, 1971). "Janis Joplin: Pearl". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
9. ^ "Janis Joplin: Album Guide". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
10. ^ Christgau, Robert (1970). "Consumer Guide (16)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
11. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. p. 122 | Pearl \- Janis Joplin. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
12. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
13. ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
14. ^ Pearl (Booklet). Janis Joplin. Columbia (CK 53441). 1993.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. ^ Pearl (Booklet). Janis Joplin. Columbia (CK 65786). 1999.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
16. ^ Pearl (Media notes). Janis Joplin. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL 2-454). 2016.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. ^ Pearl (Booklet). Janis Joplin. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (UDSACD 2173). 2016.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
18. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 162\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
19. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5201". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
20. ^ "Lista prodaje 12. tjedan 2024" (in Croatian). HDU. March 11, 2024. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Janis Joplin – Pearl" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Janis Joplin – Pearl" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
23. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Janis Joplin – Pearl". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
24. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Janis Joplin – Pearl". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
25. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Janis Joplin – Pearl". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
26. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
27. ^ "Janis Joplin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
28. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1971" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
29. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1971. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
30. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Janis Joplin – Pearl". Music Canada.
32. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Janis Joplin – Pearl" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 7, 2020. Select 1995年10月 on the drop-down menu
33. ^ "British album certifications – Janis Joplin – Pearl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 4, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Pearl at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Janis Joplin

* Big Brother and the Holding Company
* Kozmic Blues Band
* Full Tilt Boogie Band

Studio albums|

* Big Brother & the Holding Company (1967)
* Cheap Thrills (1968)
* I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969)
* Pearl (1971)

Live albums|

* In Concert (1972)
* Live at Winterland '68 (1998)
* The Woodstock Experience (2009)
* Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 (2012)

Compilations|

* Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits (1973)
* Janis (1975)
* Wicked Woman (1976)
* Farewell Song (1982)
* Janis (1993)
* This Is Janis Joplin (1995)
* 18 Essential Songs (1995)
* Love, Janis (2001)
* The Lost Tapes (2008)
* Move Over! (2011)
* Blow All My Blues Away (2012)
* The Pearl Sessions (2012)

Songs|

* "Ball and Chain"
* "Careless Love"
* "Cry Baby"
* "Down on Me"
* "Flower in the Sun"
* "Hesitation Blues"
* "Kozmic Blues"
* "Mary Jane"
* "Me and Bobby McGee"
* "Mercedes Benz"
* "Move Over"
* "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"
* "Piece of My Heart"
* "See See Rider"
* "Silver Threads and Golden Needles"
* "Summertime"
* "Tell Mama"
* "To Love Somebody"
* "Trouble in Mind"
* "What Good Can Drinkin' Do"
* "Work Me, Lord"

Related|

* Janis (1974 documentary)
* Love, Janis (2001 musical)
* Nine Hundred Nights (2001 documentary)
* Janis: Little Girl Blue (2015 documentary)
* Sam Andrew
* Jorma Kaukonen
* Gabriel Mekler
* Michael Monarch

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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