Big Brother delivers big throwback

When one thinks of the name Big Brother, the first thing that usually comes to mind would be the TV show. The average person on the street would probably not remember the influential rock band Big Brother & The Holding Company, but they were huge in the San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the early 1960s. What officially put them on the map was their brief stint with a certain frontwoman by the name of Janis Joplin.

Everyone knows her: Joplin is famous for her brief solo career in which she howled over bluesy tunes like “Piece of My Heart” and “Cry Baby,” before tragically dying of a heroin overdose at age 27. But before that solo career, she was Big Brother’s lead singer. The band has released a compilation album titled Sex, Dope & Cheap Thrills, which consists entirely of alternate takes and previously unreleased material with Joplin at the helm.

The album consists of 30 tracks, some of which are multiple takes of the same songs. There’s plenty of Joplin’s signature rasp over the raucous arrangements like the aforementioned “Piece of My Heart” and “Catch Me Daddy.” But for fans of Joplin’s (slightly) softer side, such as the time she covered Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee,”there are several lovely tracks on here too. “Flower In The Sun” is more of a smooth jam, while “Roadblock” channels Southern influences. Most of the songs have between two and three takes included on the album, and it’s fun to notice the slight variations.

Ultimately, one can’t listen to Joplin’s voice without remembering the tragic circumstances of her untimely death, because she truly was a once-in-a-generation talent. The songs are all strong, but the band was never able to commercially recover from her departure. She fit in well with the band’s sound and gave their music a harder edge with the grit in her delivery. It’s a strong collection of B-sides from their most productive moments as a band, in which one can really hear the songs coming together.