When Janis Joplin died in October 1970 at the early age of 27, thus involuntarily confirming the beatnik adage -live fast, love hard, die young®, it was only a matter of time before she was crowned the "Queen of Rock". Of greater importance than this posthumous entry into rock 'n' roll's hall of fame is the recognition during her lifetime of her explosive vocal style, which - so Vogue - -turned the whole history of singing upside down. Janis Joplin's discography is just as short and changeable as her life. After two LP releases with the standard 'cast' of rock musicians in the band Big Brother And The Holding Company, with whose excellent musical support she obtained her first recording contract with Columbia Records in 1968, the company provided her with a group augmented with organ and winds. Their intention was to broaden her vocal expression with blues and funk elements, which, however, her most loyal fans regarded as betrayal of the ideals of rock music. Rock fans in the Old World were less critical, especially since Joplin and her Kozmic Blues Band went on a two-month tour of Europe. For those Woodstock fans whose ears are still ringing with the band's full, meaty wind sound and Janis's bluesy soul singing, this album is an absolute must.." Recording: June - August 1969 by Sy Mitchell, Jerry Hochman, and Alex KazanegrasProduction: Gabriel Mekler." "I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!" - Janis Joplin (voc); Cornelius "Snooky" Flowers, Terry Clements (sax); Luis Gasca (tr); Richard Kermode, Gabriel Mekler (org); Sam Andrew (g); Brad Campbell (b); Maury Baker, Lonnie Castille (dr), a.o.." standard sleeve
E**Y
THE FIRST JANIS ALBUM WHERE THE RECORD COMPANY WERE RE-MARKETING HER
I have just revisited this album for the first time in 50 years and can now understand that her record company were trying to re-market and re-shape her into being more like Etta James. I can also understand why they were trying to distance her from Big Brother & The Holding Company too because even I, aged 16 at the time, thought they were a pretty naff band compared to the likes of The Doors, Cream, Dr John and the original Fleetwood Mac that Peter Green used to be in back then. I freely admit that I didn't like 'Kozmic Blues' much when it came out because it felt like they'd plopped Janis into a goldfish bowl to perform with some slick session players. However, when it came out shortly after her death, I absolutely loved 'Pearl' and still do. I've just downloaded 'Kozmic Blues' to add to 'Pearl' in my Mp3 downloads collection because Janis did produce a few other good things in her desperately hurt and confused life. It's just that she couldn't see that she was much more talented than the people surrounding her and didn't focus further than to do the best she could in those circumstances. This album has got some good tracks on it worth listening to.Eamonn
S**D
Five Stars
Great e bayer
A**R
Amazing!!
Janis hated the kozmic blues band but i feel she was more hating herself for leaving big brother! It's a shame she was made to feel so guilty but ever the perfectionist and her strive to do better with her first band and i think she reached a higher level as a singer on this album! Big brother would have never let her go because they knew that she was the talent and other people did to and i'm glad she left and formed Kozmic blues because this is the album that led to her masterpiece Pearl. Pearl is the Grandfather of Hip Blues then this album is the father of that music!
P**S
Two sides of Joplin
These two albums rate amongst the very best of 1960s music and have lost none of their appeal. Nothing has gone stale about Joplin and her band on the all-time classic Pearl. After all these years, it remains a magnificent listening experience because of the quality of the songs, the band's tight playing and the impressive emotional range of Joplin's vocals.Unlike Cheap Thrills, where there was mostly a cosmic battle between Joplin’s voice and Big Brother's heavy metal onslaught, here the voice is the star. My favorites on an album of classics include the poignant Me and Bobby McGee, the tender A Woman Left Lonely, the edgy Half Moon, the emotional Cry Baby, the buoyant Get It While You Can and the plaintive/humorous Mercedes Benz. Perfect arrangements, brilliant playing and masterly vocalization combine here to create a rock masterpiece.Kozmic Blues, Joplin's debut after leaving Big Brother, may perhaps be described as a glorious marriage of blues and soul. Don't be mislead by the original psychedelic album cover - this is not the acid-rock Janis. She turns the Bee Gees' To Love Somebody into a wrenching torch song, an at times restrained, at times desperate, but always brilliant rendition.The arrangements impress throughout, especially in the complex and moving As Good As You've Been and Kozmic Blues. Another favorite is Maybe, where she out-souls Aretha Franklin. It may not be as accessible as Pearl, but Kozmic Blues nevertheless amply rewards the listener and reveals another aspect of this mistress of the desperation blues.
M**I
Two pressings, both scratched in the same position
Purchases February 2021. I've had to return two vinyls. Somewhere in the manufacturing or packaging process, a scratch is evident in the same place. Track 3 Side 1. Two albums, identical scratch. I really wanted this LP but really disappointed that sufficient care wasn't taken during manufacture.
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