this is my second time reading this book and I enjoyed it even more this time. This time, I focused less on Joplin and more on the historical aspects of the book. ( )

I seem to be collecting the life stories of troubled singers at the moment! A tragic member of the 27 club, Janis Joplin was an incredible natural talent, her voice a 'powerful combination of intellect and spontaneous feeling' behind songs like 'Piece of My Heart', 'Me and Bobby McGee' and 'Mercedes Benz'. She released four albums, two of them with her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and embodied the San Francisco spirit of the 1960s, before sadly overdosing in 1970. There wouldn't seem to be enough of a life to write about, but Alice Echols does justice to her subject, without simpering or sniping (although her claim that 'this book is not a blow-by-blow account of Janis' every fuck and fix' is a bit of a stretch).

Like her 'chameleon's voice' - the 'gravelly Bessie Smith voice' she was known for, but also her natural 'clear and pure' tones - Janis was a woman of contrasting personas. She was the foul-mouthed, cackling star who posed naked, drank and took drugs to excess, but also the intelligent, insecure 'little girl blue' who needed a mother figure and was vulnerable and far too trusting. She loved both men and women, but only wanted to find that 'white picket' life and didn't want to be claimed as a gay role model. And even though she knew she had a good voice, she never truly believed in herself, remembering how she was tormented at high school for her different appearance rather than making the most of her sudden rise to stardom. As I say, another troubled singer, but a fantastic one! Well worth reading about, too. ( )

I feel like this book was a musical education for me. By completion, I had streamed at least 33 new artists that were mentioned briefly or in-depth in the book. (My favorites, if you’re curious, would be Wanda Jackson, Janis Martin, Lead Belly, The Byrds, and Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry.) It sort of revived 60s-70s music on my playlist, and quite a few bands are now on my constant musical rotation. Not only is the amount of music mentioned mind-boggling, but the era the book takes place (50s-60s) is written with incredible detail. It talks about the culture, not just in terms of the counterculture, but the “squares” too, as well as gender and skin inequalities, and even pre-50s about the beginning stirrings of what would later be called rock and roll.

To be perfectly honest, I’ve never really held an opinion about Janis Joplin, other than people occasionally telling me I looked like her when I was in high school. Apparently, that was meant as a sort of insult, as people—including Janis herself—often remarked that she was unattractive. To me, though, she never looked bad. I thought she looked natural and pretty, actually. But whatever. I found myself relating hardcore to a lot of Janis’ perceptions on life and school. Growing up, I never really fit in, and even now, I find it easier to hang out with a group of dudes than women. I’ve always been supremely self-conscious, and I’m the first person to talk crap about myself to anyone who will listen. I also felt jilted by the unfair treatment of my classmates growing up, who perceived me as weird and strange. It was interesting to read about her life’s experiences, and how a lot of that isolation shaped her and made her demand that people listen to her, as she gained fame.

SPOILERS (SORT OF):
Things I learned while reading this book:
-About the first light shows and how they came about in the 60s.
-How the charming hippie lifestyle that is so waxed so poetically about was not nearly as gender equitable as people would have you believe.
-Everyone knows about Woodstock, but Monetary Pop Festival was actually the landmark festival that is known for starting off “The Summer of Love,” and inspiring Woodstock and countless other rock festivals.
-“Cheap Thrills,” with Janis and Big Brother, was made to sound like a live album—complete with staged whistling and glass-breaking. This was because it was believed their raw, unpolished sound was at its best when it was live. All those little “mistakes,” and when her voices breaks, could be simply attributed to the “live” nature of the album, not the unpolished way they actually sounded.
-Janis’ favorite liquor was Southern Comfort. Kind of funny, since that was definitely the kind of liquor everyone drank in college.

THE VERDICT:
This book is very frank, very poignant, and very well-written. It includes first-person accounts from Janis’ friends and family (through a few quotes), and writes very logically and factually about incidents that took place during her life. Of course, the author presupposes things, the way Janis might have felt about things, but she backs up a lot of these logically, so it doesn’t seem to crazy that Janis was thinking those things. I think anyone could potentially enjoy this book. It’s meticulously written, informative, fascinating, and it really immerses you in the counterculture of the 60s. As someone who never really any special interest in Janis, I am now thoroughly fascinated. ( )

Very well written, very scholarly, and also rather sedate and dry - which is a complete contrast with the life laid out here by Alice Echols. It's a calm walk alongside Janis' turbulent life, unlike other Janis bios that tend towards scandal and sensation. Echols reports her findings almost clinically and more like a historical journal. Almost the antithesis of the 60s.... and this seems to be where the strength lies in this book. Not your regular "sex drugs and rock and roll" scandal bio. ( )

This portrait of Joplin strives to find something to say that any casual fan wouldn't already know, but only manages occasionally. Still, it does show the importance of revisiting and reconsidering eras of history (like the 60s) that you think you know everything about. Echols is particularly sensitive to the complex relationship between white 60s rockers and the black blues and soul artists who inspired them, only to be usurped by them. ( )