Ball & Chain (feat. Janis Joplin) [Live]

Fans of Janis Joplin and/or the psychedelic era should consider this video — originally broadcast as a black-and-white, 30-minute performance for KQED TV in San Francisco in April 1967 — as a must-see. The band were unknown outside of California at the time, and this video even predates their first official studio release and their landmark appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. The songs include much of their best material — "Down on Me," "Coo Coo," "Light Is Faster than Sound," "Blow My Mind," and of course "Ball and Chain." It's often been said that Big Brother never managed to capture their live fire in the studio, and while this doesn't present definitive evidence of this contention, the band were undoubtedly looser here than on record, and more powerful in some ways. A big bonus is the berserk psychedelic instrumental treatment of "Hall of the Mountain King," with thrilling, even avant-garde feedback/distortion duels between Sam Andrews and James Gurley. At the point it was broadcast, this particular bit may well have been the most outrageous rock & roll ever televised. Also included are some brief, largely inconsequential interview snippets with the band (with bassist Peter Albin, surprisingly, acting as chief spokesperson).