Cheap Thrills [LP]

After a relatively obscure indie debut album, Big Brother's unforgettable appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival led to CHEAP THRILLS, their major label bow. Its R. Crumb cover art made it a visual standout, but the visceral power contained within heralded Janis Joplin's arrival as a new countercultural blues-rock diva. Partially recorded live at San Francisco's Fillmore, CHEAP THRILLS showed Joplin's affinity for the blues, as she effortlessly covered the standard "Summertime" as well as her heroine Big Mama Thornton's "Ball & Chain." Band conflicts caused by Joplin's high profile within the group resulted in her leaving soon afterward for a solo career.