Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits
More thanCheap Thrillsor evenPearl,Greatest Hitshas helped keep Janis Joplin's short-lived recording career alive for listeners who came along after her 1970 death. "Me and Bobby McGee" is the biggest draw, of course--it was a posthumous No. 1 single--but the rest is equally exciting. Despite the familiarity of the titles here, this goes far beyond the merely serviceable, particularly on a previously unreleased, utterly smashing live version of "Down on Me" cut with Big Brother. Finally, the cover photo of Janis smiling in a sunny park is as poignant a shot of her as exists.--Rickey Wright