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DO WHAT YOU LOVE
Track list: Take Off (3.25); Save Your Love (5.19); I Need a Man to Love (6.13); Bo's Bio (3.16); Women is Losers (4.45); Freedom (3.08); The OK Chorale (00.49); Do What You Love (4.14); Back Door Jamb (00.52);
Feed The Flame (4.42); It's Cool (3.38); Looking Back (3.48); X Factor (4.11).).
Big Brother and the Holding Company grew up out of the San Francisco rock scene in the mid sixties and they were very much in the vanguard of the American psychedelia movement.
Although they built up a good following in their own right, it is for the inclusion of the then unknown female singer Janis Joplin to the band's lineup in June 1966 that they are best remembered. Within a year of her joining, the band performed to tremendous acclaim at the Monterey Festival and, while this performance undoubtedly helped launch Joplin 's subsequent career, even at the time it was noted in the press that "it was the instrumentalists who really made the group out of sight."
After the release of the 'Cheap Thrills' album which remained number one in the charts for some eight weeks, Joplin decided to go her own way with a backing band she put together herself.
Following her departure the band were inactive for a short time, but it was not long before they bounced back again, releasing 'Be A Brother' in 1970 and 'How Hard it Is' in 1971.
By early '72 however, the various band members had all started becoming involved in individual projects and, as far as this early phase of the band was concerned, the writing was pretty much on the wall.
Despite a one off reunion show in 1978, it was a long time before Big Brother were to see a revival of fortune...
The amazingly powerful comeback album 'Do What You Love' was first released in the US in 1998, and features two of the band's founder members: Sam Andrew (guitar, vocals) and Peter Albin (bass) - not to mention David
Getz (drums) who first joined the band in the winter of 1966. Two new members recruited for this comeback album are Tom Finch (guitars) and Lisa Battle (vocalist).
The album contains 13 tracks all told, and there are no over indulgent epic numbers, just solid no-nonsense, full on rock.
The band now play a powerful blend of rock and blues and, despite being absent for so long, these veterans have lost none of their energy and are clearly at ease experimenting with different styles. While this new sound is fresh and vibrant, there are echoes of the past here as well, with two of the songs having been either written or co-written by Joplin herself.
The opening track 'Take Off' with its driving rhythm and upbeat playing style provides a really strong start to the album and immediately shows Lisa Battle to be a powerful, yet well disciplined singer and she
delivers the goods in fine style.
Next, in a complete contrast of style, comes 'Save Your Love', which adds just a touch of reggae to the proceedings.
Here the smooth vocals combined with the soft pulsing bass lines make give a really slinky sound and the additional backing vocals give added weight to the number.
'I Need a Man to Love' is a track that was co-written by Joplin, and the harder edged guitar sound gives a much rockier feel to the number.
This performance also demonstrates Lisa Battle's talents to full advantage, and in many ways I find her to be a superior vocalist to Joplin - in terms of range and delivery she certainly impresses.
Next up is 'Bo's Bio', a fast moving R'n'B number that really hustles along.
The main vocal is provided by Sam Andrew, with Lisa putting in excellent backing work. I was also impressed here by the driving lead guitar work, with some slick variations on the main theme.
The second older song featured is 'Women is Losers' which is a Joplin piece.
While this is not one of my favorites, the band perform it very well indeed. The bass has a strong jazz/funk feel, while the guitar work twangs along and, as ever, Lisa's vocals are more than up to the job.
Changing direction again 'Freedom'
is a more rocky number. It contains elements that put me in mind of Meatloaf - especially the contrast between the main vocals and the strong counter melody from the backing singers. One criticsm I have is that I found the guitar sound to be delivered with a little too much distortion for comfort ... but a strong number all the same.
'The OK Chorale' is a very short instrumental passage with soft violin and acoustic guitar which seems to mark the half way point, and offers some nice contrast and variation, while affording the listener a chance to
take it easy for a few moments.
Launching us back into the fray once again is 'Do What You Love', a funk oriented number containing a swinging bass rhythm and jangly guitar style, complemented perfectly by a strong soul element creeping in from the
vocals.
This is followed by the slightly disappointing 'Back Door Jamb', another short instrumental piece featuring electric guitar and percussion.
There is not really enough body in this track for any real development to take place and I find that its inclusion on the album to be a little superfluous, and since it tends to break up the flow, I'm afraid I tend to skip this one!
'Feed The Flame' follows on in a similar vein to the title track, but the overall sound is perhaps a little more subdued and the pace slower. Good bass work and smooth vocals from Sam Andrew, blended with piano
backing work well together.
'It's Cool' was for me a rather irritating rap/funk number, although in fairness I should stress that, as with the rest of the album, the playing is tight and cohesive. The failure of this track to impress is
more down to the fact that I'm not keen on this genre than because of any inherent weakness in the music, but as such I find it very hard to comment objectively.
Getting things back on an even keel is 'Looking Back' which uses piano work to good effect, creating a swinging, upbeat mood, after which 'X Factor' brings the album to a close.
This final track is an atmospheric instrumental piece which is of a fairly ambient / repetitive nature. Although this is a rather sombre piece with an almost experimental nature, it works very well as an end piece to the album.
I did find that the packaging on this release was sadly rather minimal. The presentation is pleasant enough - a simple four page affair with cover artwork by David Getz.
On the back are some brief notes about the making of the album and lineup info, while inside are a few band photos; but I cannot help but think that simply including the lyrics would have improved things by a huge margin.
In the final analysis though, I have to say I have found this an impressive return to form, and fans of Joplin and Big Brother's past works are sure to enjoy this magnificent return album.
For those unfamiliar with these sixties icons let me say that if you have the remotest liking for solid rock or R'n'B sounds, then this could be exactly what you need.
Simon 17th April 2002
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