Let me be frank. I don't like tribute shows - probably because I've never seen a good one.  All too often, they are little more than someone doing rather one dimensional impersonations of the featured performer. So I approached the Broadway cast recording of A Night with Janis Joplin with some trepidation. The show, which closed this past weekend [February, 2014], had a reasonable run of going on 6 months, had reasonable reviews, and has a transfer out of town planned, so the signs were good.

The 19-song album is anchored by Mary Bridget Davies’s high-octane performance of Joplin’s iconic hit songs. The show (and recording) also features music from Joplin’s greatest musical influences including Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith. In the spirit of the original musical, the Original Broadway Cast Recording defies Broadway conventions. Recorded in New York City on 21 October 2013, the album was produced by Russ Titelman, Todd Gershwin, Daniel Chilewich, Michael Cohl and Carl Casella. Titelman has, over the course of his 50 year career, recorded with Dusty Springfield, Captain Beefheart and Brian Wilson and produced albums by The Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and many more.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording also marks the World Premiere of 'I’m Gonna Rock My Way to Heaven,' a song legendary writer and producer Jerry Ragovoy wrote for Joplin just prior to her death in 1970. Ragovoy, who had never allowed the song to be released prior to A Night With Janis Joplin, was in the audience for its stage premiere with his wife, Bev Ragovoy, opening night in Portland, Oregon in 2011, just one month before his own death. Ms. Ragovoy, who carries on his musical legacy, was ecstatic that the recording of this song was finally realized.

The opening night cast, also featured on the cast album, includes Mary Bridget Davies reprising her role as Janis Joplin, Taprena Michelle Augustine (The Book of Mormon), Tony Award nominee De’Adre Aziza (Passing Strange), Nikki Kimbrough (Dreamgirls) and Alison Blackwell (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess), who will be playing the various roles of Joplin’s iconic female singers who influenced her music and also as her backup singers, “The Joplinaires”. They are joined in the production by NaTasha Yvette Williams (The Color Purple), now on stage as Aretha Franklin, Kacee Clanton (One Night with Janis Joplin regionally) as Janis Joplin alternate, Allison Blackwell (currently appearing as Joplinaire swing) and Alison Cusano (One Night with Janis Joplin regionally) as Joplinaire swing and Janis Joplin understudy.

Musically, this album is outstanding. The production is spot on, and the content is very well balanced. I'm not a Joplin fan, but I still appreciated the music, and the era that this represents. The performances are all stand out, but Davies' portrayal of Joplin is almost better than the real thing. I spent some time listening to some Joplin albums before I reviewed this, and the styles match. This isn't an interpretation, or an impression, it's a rebirth of everything that was iconic about Joplin. If anything, it's a celebration.

Highlights are many - 'Summertime' is as distinctive as it is chilling, and the best known numbers such as 'Mercedes Benz' and 'Piece of My Heart' are as good as you will hear them anywhere. The arrangements complement perfectly, as do the backing vocals. This is an ensemble effort as much as it's a night with one lady.

I've reviewed this more as a vocal album than a cast recording.  It's very difficult to get the impression of the live musical from the CD - despite a good synopsis in the inlay. But, for me, that didn't matter. It's as much an enjoyable listen first time, as it would be a reminder for anyone lucky enough to experience the real thing.

8

Ian Gude