Pearl (album)

Pearl
Studio album by Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band
Released	January 11, 1971 (1971-01-11)
Recorded	September 5 - October 1, 1970
Genre	Blues rock, Hard Rock
Length	34:10
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)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	A−
Rolling Stone	(favorable)

Pearl is the fourth album by Janis Joplin, released posthumously on Columbia Records, catalogue PC 30322, in January 1971. It was the final album with her direct participation, and the only Joplin album recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, her final touring unit. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, holding that spot for nine weeks. It has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA.

Content

The album has a more polished feel than the albums she recorded with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Kozmic Blues Band due to the expertise of producer Paul A. Rothchild and her new backing musicians. Rothchild was best known as the producer of The Doors, and worked well with Joplin, calling her a producers dream. Together they were able to craft an album that showcased her extraordinary vocal talents.

The Full Tilt Boogie Band were the musicians who accompanied her on the famous train tour of Canada, Festival Express, in the summer of 1970, and many of the songs on this album were introduced on the concert stage in Canada. They also appeared twice on The Dick Cavett Show.

All nine tracks that she sings on were personally approved and arranged by Joplin. Pearl features the hits "Me and Bobby McGee", on which she played acoustic guitar, written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, "Trust Me" by Bobby Womack which was written especially for Janis, Howard Tate's "Get It While You Can" which showcases her incredible vocal range, and two originals "Move Over", and "Mercedes Benz" written by Joplin. "My Baby" and "A Woman Left Lonely" are two more tracks that are considered among her best studio works.

Joplin sings on all of the tracks except "Buried Alive in the Blues", which remained a Full Tilt Boogie instrumental as she died before being able to add her vocals, however she approved this recording. The recording sessions, which began in early September, ended with Joplin's untimely death on October 4, 1970. Her final recordings were "Mercedes Benz" and a birthday greeting for John Lennon.

The iconic album cover shows Joplin reclining on her Victorian Era loveseat with a drink in her hand, conveying that this is Janis Joplin as she really is.

Legacy

A reissue of Pearl remastered for compact disc was released August 31, 1999. It included four previously unreleased live recordings from the Festival Express Tour, recorded on July 4, 1970, as bonus tracks. In 2003, the album was ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. A two-disc Legacy Edition appeared on June 14, 2005, with 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 will be reissued a third time in 2012 as The Pearl Sessions which will feature more alternate takes and recordings of Joplin speaking in the studio.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Move Over"	Janis Joplin	3:43
2.	"Cry Baby"	Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns	3:58
3.	"A Woman Left Lonely"	Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham	3:29
4.	"Half Moon"	John Hall, Johanna Hall	3:53
5.	"Buried Alive in the Blues"	Nick Gravenites	2:29

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Baby"	Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman	3:26
2.	"Me and Bobby McGee"	Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster	4:33
3.	"Mercedes Benz"	Janis Joplin, Bob Neuwirth, Michael McClure	1:48
4.	"Trust Me"	Bobby Womack	3:17
5.	"Get It While You Can"	Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman (Howard Tate 1966 rendition)	3:27

1999 bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Tell Mama"	Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell	6:32
12.	"Little Girl Blue"	Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart	3:50
13.	"Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)"	Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor	6:52
14.	"Cry Baby"	Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns	6:29

2004 bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Happy Birthday, John (Happy Trails)"	1:12
12.	"Me and Bobby McGee" (demo version)	4:46
13.	"Move Over" (alternate version)	4:27
14.	"Cry Baby" (alternate version)	4:59
15.	"My Baby" (alternate version)	3:59
16.	"Pearl" (instrumental)	4:29

2004 disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tell Mama"	Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell	6:49
2.	"Half Moon"	John Hall, Johanna Hall	4:38
3.	"Move Over"	Janis Joplin	4:41
4.	"Maybe"	Richard Barrett	3:57
5.	"Summertime"	Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin	4:39
6.	"Little Girl Blue"	Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart	5:10
7.	"That's Rock 'n' Roll"	Full Tilt Boogie	5:03
8.	"Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)"	Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor	9:11
9.	"Kozmic Blues"	Janis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler	5:29
10.	"Piece of My Heart"	Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns	5:21
11.	"Cry Baby"	Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns	6:31
12.	"Get It While You Can"	Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman	7:20
13.	"Ball and Chain"	Willie Mae Thornton	8:15

Personnel

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

Additional personnel

• Bobby Womack – acoustic guitar on "Trust Me"
• Bobbye Hall – conga, percussion
• Phil Badella, John Cooke, Vince Mitchell – backing vocals
• Sandra Crouch – tambourine

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1971	Billboard 200	1
	Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart
	Canadian RPM 100

Sales certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	4× Platinum	400,000^
United States (RIAA)	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

Preceded by Jesus Christ Superstar by Original Cast	Billboard 200 number-one album February 27–April 30, 1971	Succeeded by Jesus Christ Superstar by Original Cast
Preceded by All Things Must Pass by George Harrison	Australian Kent Music Report number-one album May 17–June 20, 1971	Succeeded by In Rock by Deep Purple
Preceded by Jesus Christ Superstar by Original Cast	RPM 100 number-one album March 13–May 1, 1971	Succeeded by Love Story Soundtrack