Janis Joplin's solo debut was a letdown at the time of release, suffering in comparison with Big Brother's Cheap Thrills from the previous year, and shifting her style toward soul-rock in a way that disappointed some fans.
Removed from that context, it sounds better today, though it's still flawed.
Fronting the short-lived Kozmic Blues Band, the arrangements are horn heavy and the material soulful and bluesy.
The band sounds a little stiff and although Joplin's singing is good, she would sound more electrifying on various live versions of some of the songs.
The shortage of quality original compositions -- indeed, there are only eight tracks total on the album -- didn't help either, and the cover selections were erratic, particularly the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody." On the other hand, "Try" is one of her best soul outings, and the reading of Rodgers & Hart's "Little Girl Blue" is inspired.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor | Janis Joplin | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | MaybeRichard Barrett | Janis Joplin | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 3 | One Good ManJanis Joplin | Janis Joplin | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | As Good as You've Been to This WorldNick Gravenites | Janis Joplin | Play | 05:26 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 5 | To Love SomebodyBarry Gibb, Robin Gibb | Janis Joplin | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Kozmic BluesJanis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler | Janis Joplin | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Little Girl BlueLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | Janis Joplin | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 8 | Work Me, LordNick Gravenites, Traditional | Janis Joplin | Play | 06:33 | 15 MB | 36 MB |
| 37 mins | 86 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 209 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Andrew | Guest Artist |
| 2 | Richard Barrett | Composer |
| 3 | Luis Gasca | Guest Artist |
| 4 | Barry Gibb | Composer |
| 5 | Robin Gibb | Composer |
| 6 | Nick Gravenites | Composer |
| 7 | Lorenz Hart | Composer |
| 8 | Janis Joplin | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 9 | Gabriel Mekler | Composer |
| 10 | Jerry Ragovoy | Composer |
| 11 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 12 | Chip Taylor | Composer |
| 13 | Traditional | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |