The Waller Creek Boys Featuring Janis Joplin

★★★★

The Waller Creek Boys Featuring Janis Joplin LYSERGIC SOUND DISTRIBUTORS. LP

Blues and folk from a pre-fame Janis.

Before she became the flamboyant Queen Of Rock, Janis Joplin was a Bessie Smith-influenced blues singer in the Austin, Texas folk scene. These rare 1962 tracks (including five never-before released) feature her with The Waller Creek Boys: Lanny Wiggins on guitar and Powell St John on harmonica. The material is mostly standard for the folk era: blues (St James Infirmary; Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out), traditionals (Banks Of The Ohio), jug band (Stealin’) and country (Silver Threads And Golden Needles). But when she covers the Ray Charles hit I’ll Drown In My Own Tears, you can hear she’s seeking to bust out of the folkie repertoire. The 19-year-old Janis’s voice is already fully formed with extraordinary confidence and authority. Her deep soul and glass-breaking pierce are all here: the sound of a giant-in-training. Michael Simmons