Kozmic Blues

1969-06 [1969-09-11] Kozmic Blues Band

Tracks (11)

01 Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) (Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor) info icon
02 Maybe (Richard Barrett) info icon
03 One Good Man (Janis Joplin) info icon
04 As Good as You've Been to This World (Nick Gravenites) info icon
05 To Love Somebody (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) info icon
06 Kozmic Blues (Janis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler) info icon
07 Little Girl Blue (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) info icon
08 Work Me Lord (Nick Gravenites) info icon
09 Dear Landlord (Bob Dylan) info icon
(CD reissue bonus track)
10 Summertime (DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin) info icon
Live (CD reissue bonus track)
11 Piece Of My Heart (Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns) info icon
Live (CD reissue bonus track)

Notes

N. CDs: 1

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (37:29)
(r. September 1969)
(c. October 11, 1969 — # 5)

Track listing:
Side 1:
Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) (3:58)
Maybe (3:43)
One Good Man (4:10)
As Good as You've Been to This World (5:25)
Side 2:
To Love Somebody (5:17)
Kozmic Blues (4:23)
Little Girl Blue (3:49)
Work Me, Lord (6:33)

Remastered extended version bonus tracks:
Dear Landlord (session outtake) (2:31)
Summertime (Woodstock August 16, 1969) (5:04)
Piece Of My Heart (Woodstock August 16, 1969) (5:27)
Kozmic Blues radio commercial (0:52)
---
Studio album by Janis Joplin
Released September, 1969
Recorded June 1969
Genre Blues-rock
Label Columbia
Producer Gabriel Mekler

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! is a 1969 studio album by Janis Joplin. It was the first solo studio album Joplin recorded after leaving Big Brother and the Holding Company. The LP was released on September 11, 1969 and reached gold record status within two months of its release. The CD reissue of the album additionally includes the outtake "Dear Landlord" and versions of "Summertime" and "Piece of My Heart" recorded live at Woodstock as bonus tracks.

Track listing
1. "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Jerry Ragovoy, Chip Taylor) - 3:57
2. "Maybe" (Richard Barrett) - 3:41
3. "One Good Man" (Janis Joplin) - 4:12
4. "As Good As You've Been to This World" (Nick Gravenites) - 5:27
5. "To Love Somebody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) - 5:14
6. "Kozmic Blues" (Janis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler) - 4:24
7. "Little Girl Blue" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 3:51
8. "Work Me, Lord" (Nick Gravenites) - 6:45

CD reissue bonus tracks
1. "Dear Landlord" (Session Outtake) (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin) - 2:32
2. "Summertime" (Live at Woodstock) (George Gershwin)- 5:04
3. "Piece of My Heart" (Live at Woodstock) (Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Berns) - 6:31

Personnel
* Janis Joplin - lead vocals, guitar
* Sam Andrew - guitar, vocals
* Michael Monarch - guitar (uncredited)
* Mike Bloomfield - guitar (One Good Man, Work Me Lord, Mabye)
* Brad Campbell - bass, brass instrumentation
* Richard Kermode - electronic organ, keyboards
* Gabriel Mekler - electronic organ, keyboards
* Goldy McJohn - electronic organ, keyboards (uncredited)
* Maury Baker - drums
* Lonnie Castille - drums
* Jerry Edmonton - drums (uncredited)
* Terry Clements - tenor saxophone
* Cornelius Flowers - baritone saxophone
* Luis Gasca - trumpet

Releases

  1. Janis Joplin disc release: KCS 9913KCS 9913
    LP Columbia
  2. S-63546
    LP CBS
  3. CK 9913
    CD Columbia 18/1/1988
  4. CK 65785
    CD Legacy Records 31/8/1999
    remastered extended version
  5. Janis Joplin disc release: 6578565785
    CD, Cassette Legacy Records 31/8/1999
    I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! [Remaster]
    Also available with BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY FEATURING JANIS JOPLIN, CHEAP THRILLS, PEARL and bonus disc RARE PEARLS in BOX OF PEARLS: THE JANIS JOPLIN COLLECTION. Also available with CHEAP THRILLS and PEARL in a 3-CD set. Producer: Gabriel Mekler. Reissue producer: Bob Irwin. Engineers: Sy Mitchell, Jerry Hochman, Alex Kazanegras. Recorded in June 1969. Live bonus tracks recorded at Woodstock Festival, Woodstock, New York in August 1969. Includes liner notes by John Byrne Cooke. Digitally remastered by Vic Anesini (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). Using Stax-Volt styled horn arrangements and a rhythm section including Sam Andrew, who she brought along from Big Brother And The Holding Company, her backing group is mightily up to it's task, as KOZMIC BLUES officially marks the start of solo Joplin. Some of her stances as the misused woman might not jibe with current sensibilities, but her tortured, insistent, blues-soaked performances leave little doubt as to who's really got the power. If she needs to make sure her man loves her enough, she'll "Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)" to let him know how she feels. While whooping it up at a wild, happening party, she enjoys all the fun but is really just looking for "One Good Man."

    Her take on the Gibb Brothers "To Love Somebody" is impossibly funky. Janis probably did not affect many singers stylistically, because imitating her intensity was technically prohibitive. But it is sure that over in England, one Robert Plant was paying close attention. With her whisper-to-a-roar dynamics and multi-octave range, Janis and The Kozmic Blues Band bury listeners in the soul blues.
  6. KCS 9913
    LP Columbia 9/1969

Reviews

  1. Q Magazine (11/99, p.156)
    - 3 stars out of 5 - "...she went in a more straightforward blues/pop direction, with the fluid, funky 'Try' and the Nina Samone ballad, 'Little Girl Blue'...
  2. Rolling Stone (11/1/69, p.40)
    ...a fine and solid [album]....'Kozmic Blues' itself is a small-but-large masterpiece, with luminous autobiographical lyrics and a fully realized performance....Lady Janis sermonizes beautifully..."