If albums were rated exclusively by their cover art, then “Cheap Thrills” would certainly be one of the best albums of all time. The R. Crumb artwork is classic and perfectly depicts the vibe of late ‘60s San Francisco.

The album itself isn’t so bad either, although it is not without flaws. Only one track is genuinely a live recording (“Ball and Chain”) but the production adds an introduction by Bill Graham and crowd noise to suggest that the entire album was recorded live at the Fillmore. If this were the case, it might excuse some of the lackluster playing, but the album is decidedly not really about the band at all.

The only real point of focus here is Janis Joplin, performing at the peak of her abilities at a time when the world at large was shocked to hear a tone and style like hers coming from a young white girl. Back in those not so innocent days, most music was still being segregated by labels and chart-keepers. Due to this, Joplin inadvertently made inroads by performing R&B material as “acid rock” to an audience of hippies that was subsequently marketed as pop music.

“Piece of My Heart” and “Ball and Chain” are the most well known songs (and the best on the album), and also happen to be covers originally performed by R&B artists (Irma Franklin and Big Mama Thornton, respectively). If you were to make a time capsule regarding the culture of the Bay Area in the late ‘60s, this album would be the first item to be placed in the box.

Featured tracks include:

Combination of the Two

I Need a Man to Love

Summertime

Piece of My Heart

Turtle Blues

Oh, Sweet Mary

Ball and Chain

August 1968 - Billboard Charted #1