I decided a long time ago, pretty confidently, that I hated Janis Joplin‘s voice. Listening to Cheap Thrills now, I’m not sure what the hell was wrong with me. Not only is her righteous roar undeniably showstopping, but it’s the best thing about this album by a wide margin.

I rarely even notice the band backing her, and when I put in the effort to do so it’s clear why I tune them out. Pretty standard slow blues riffs that do nothing to transcend their genre (the psychedelic tag on RateYourMusic is nonsense outside of “Oh, Sweet Mary,” I assure you.) They do a serviceable job of filling up the space that Joplin’s vocals do not occupy, but without her, this would be a completely average collection. But the fact is, there isn’t much Joplin to go around, so we have to give grace to what we can get of her, like Cheap Thrills.