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Adorned with a Robert Crumb cover, Big Brother and The Holding Company’s 1968 album Cheap Thrills marked the end of an era for the band.  It was Big Brother’s second and final album with lead singer Janis Joplin, whose incendiary talents were simply too big for any one band.  Cheap Thrills, produced by John Simon, remains a touchstone for pulse-pounding blues-rock.  Lead guitarist Sam Andrew, guitarist James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer David Getz unleashed one of the most distinctive vocalists of all time on such tracks as the powerful “Piece of My Heart” and the striking reinventions of George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward’s “Summertime” and Big Mama Thornton’s “Ball and Chain.”  Now, Legacy Recordings has revisited the original sessions for the new collection entitled Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills – the album’s original name nixed by Columbia Records 50 years ago.  Set for release on November 30, this 30-track 2-CD or 16-track 2-LP set features demos, outtakes and alternate takes, almost all of which are previously unreleased.

Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills kicks off with what amounts to an alternate version of the chart-topping, double-platinum album, with versions of all seven of its original tracks presented in sequence plus the brief “Harry.”  It then features a live “Ball and Chain” from the band’s April 12, 1968 Winterland gig; the outtakes “Roadblock” and “Flower in the Sun,” a jam on “How Many Times,” and additional songs like “Magic of Love,” “Catch Me Daddy,” “Turtle Blues,” and “Farewell Song.”  Almost every track is presented in an unheard version.  Just a handful of tracks are previously issued including Take 2 of “Summertime,” first released on the 1993 box set Janis; Take 1 of “Roadblock” from the 1999 expanded edition of Cheap Thrills; and Take 1 of “Magic of Love” from 2010’s Move Over!, a vinyl-only Record Store Day limited edition.  Two more first takes (“It’s a Deal” and “Easy Once You Know How”) were originally released on Box of Pearls.

Liner notes have been penned by Big Brother’s David Getz and the legendary Grace Slick.  Look for this generous helping of Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings on CD, vinyl, and digital platforms on November 30!  Pre-orders are open now at JanisJoplin.com and links will soon go active at Amazon!

Big Brother and The Holding Company, Sex, Dope and Cheap Thrills (Columbia/Legacy, 2018)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD

2CD:

CD 1

1. Combination Of The Two (Take 3)
2. I Need a Man To Love (Take 4)
3. Summertime (Take 2) *
4. Piece Of My Heart (Take 6)
5. Harry (Take 10)
6. Turtle Blues (Take 4)
7. Oh, Sweet Mary
8. Ball and Chain (Live from Winterland, 4/12/68)
9. Roadblock (Take 1) *
10. Catch Me Daddy (Take 1)
11. It’s a Deal (Take 1) *
12. Easy Once You Know How (Take 1) *
13. How Many Times Blues Jam
14. Farewell Song (Take 7)

CD 2

1. Flower in the Sun (Take 3)
2. Oh Sweet Mary
3. Summertime (Take 1)
4. Piece of My Heart (Take 4)
5. Catch Me Daddy (Take 9)
6. Catch Me Daddy (Take 10)
7. I Need a Man to Love (Take 3)
8. Harry (Take 9)
9. Farewell Song (Take 4)
10. Misery’n (Takes 2 & 3)
11. Misery’n (Take 4)
12. Magic Of Love (Take 1) *
13. Turtle Blues (Take 9)
14. Turtle Blues (Last Verse, Takes 1-3)
15. Piece of My Heart (Take 3)
16. Farewell Song (Take 5)

2LP:

1. Combination Of The Two (Demo)
2. I Need a Man To Love (Take 3)
3. Summertime (Take 2) *
4. Piece Of My Heart (Take 6)
5. Harry (Take 10)
6. Turtle Blues (Take 4)
7. Oh, Sweet Mary
8. Ball and Chain (Live from WInterland, 4/12/68)
9. Roadblock (Take 1) *
10. Magic Of Love (Take 1) *
11. Oh Sweet Mary
12. Flower In The Sun (Take 3)
13. Catch Me Daddy (Take 1)
14. Turtle Blues (Take 9)
15. How Many Times Blues Jam
16. Farewell Song (Take 5)

All tracks previously unreleased except (*):
“Summertime (Take 2)” from Janis (Columbia/Legacy C3K 48845, 1993)
“Roadblock (Take 1)” from expanded edition of Cheap Thrills (Columbia/Legacy CK 65784, 1999)
“Magic of Love (Take 1)” from Move Over! (Columbia/Legacy 88697 97969-7, 2011)
“It’s a Deal (Take 1)” and “Easy Once You Know How (Take 1)” from Box of Pearls (Columbia/Legacy C5K 65937, 1999)