Bloggerhythms

In the majority of  cases recording artists' most revered and  famous records are made early in their careers. Later, many of them will "jump the shark" - as the saying goes - or recede into the background as pop music tastes change. Unless you're a diehard fan of a particular artist many listeners will not even know what an artist's last album is. Beginning today, I'm hoping to change that by running a brand new, occasional series named Last Albums .   To qualify as a last album it must have been recorded as a set of new material that was intended to be released to the public as a complete album but not necessarily the last one. Live albums, greatest hits or "best of" collections and compilations will not be included, nor will posthumous releases of leftover tracks cobbled together to make a final album. The first one, covered below, has become a blues-rock classic. __________________________________________ Janis Joplin only made four studio album...

Big Brother and the Holding Company was a mediocre band that would be totally forgotten today except for one very important asset. Their singer and frontwoman was the legendary Janis Joplin, perhaps the most highly regarded, female, white blues and rock singer in history. The band's most famous song off of their debut LP is the single "Down On Me." It's a cover of an old folk song that has at least five earlier recorded versions dating back to 1930 including a few rare field recordings (songs recorded outside of a studio). Joplin is credited on the band's single as the song's sole arranger. She also wrote some new lyrics that gave the historic piece a more uplifting message than the earlier, more serious recordings. Big Brother's brief, 2:06, 45 RPM stays true to the band's raw, acid-rock sound and features Joplin wailing away at full throttle, but with just enough restraint to get the song played on AM radio. Real, earthy, blues-oriented hard rock was...