Big Brother & the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills (SACD, Mobile Fidelity)

It took Columbia Records’ lawyers a full seven months to remove Janis Joplin and her band from an unfortunate contractual relationship with Mainstream Records. Only then, in August 1968, could Cheap Thrills be released. A celebrated appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival the year before had caused a sensation and brought Joplin to the attention of the public, but other than a poorly produced LP, no record from her had been released. Expectations were high – and Cheap Thrills lived up to them. The number one album sold over a million copies and cemented Joplin’s reputation as the first true female rock superstar.