Originally issued in 1972 as Mountain Moving Day, this
renamed landmark album has been expanded to include some previously
unreleased tracks as well as two cuts by LeTigre. Jennifer Baumgardner’s
essay “Aural History: The Politics of Feminist Rock”
in the CD booklet is as much required reading as songs such as
the title track, “Ain’t Gonna Marry,” “Dear
Government,” “Mountain Moving Day,” “Abortion
Song,” “So Fine,” and “Shotgun,”
are required listening.
According to the glbtq-Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgender and Queer Culture, Janis Joplin “maintained
long-term relationships with several women,” and was an
active participant in the counterculture of 1960s San Francisco.
Her tragic death at twenty-seven (in 1970) deprived the music
world of one of the great performers of her generation. Joplin’s
final studio album, Pearl, was released posthumously
in 1971 and only served to drive home the point of what a great
loss music lovers everywhere had suffered. An exceptional expanded
edition of Pearl was released six years ago, but that has now
been improved on with the Pearl: Legacy Edition (Columbia/Legacy),
which tacks on six demo and alternate versions to the first disc
and incorporates the four live tracks from the 1999 reissue into
the thirteen tracks on the bonus disc recorded during the summer
1970 Canadian “Festival Express Tour.”
Admit
it, the first time you saw Sarah Bettens,
lead singer of K’s Choice (of “I’m
Not An Addict”) you speculated about her sexuality.
Believe me, you aren’t the only one. But now it’s
time to cast speculation aside as Bettens has come out and
is currently living with her female life partner in America’s
heartland. With K’s Choice and the closet behind her,
Bettens has stepped out with her solo album Scream
(Hybrid).
K’s
Choice fans will be glad to know that Bettens hasn’t
lost her gift for rocking out (the title track) and exhibiting
her softer side (“Stay”), and for those unfamiliar
with her previous outfit, this disc, which is due out later
this summer, serves as a decent introduction. |
 |
Ellen
Rosner sings the blues on her cleverly packaged new CD
Ready Steady Go! (Bubbly Creek). Her deep and powerful
wail is just this side of keening on “Princess.” I
can practically imagine her sitting on her front porch in a rocking
chair, bottle of moonshine at her feet, strumming her guitar on
the not so simple “Simple Release.” The title track
lightens the mood a bit, although with wistful lines like “Wish
I may/Wish I might/Were the last word on my lips that night.”
“Maybe
Someday,” with references to perfect worlds and perfect
girls, colors the blues a lighter shade and throws in a gently
swaying beat. The percussive “Flashback” turn turn
turns the beat around and “Way Of The World” is another
opportunity to dance a bit, before Rosner peers over the walls
of closing track “Jericho.”
