Nine Hundred Nights - Big Brother and the Holding Co. with Janis Joplin
by Michael Burlingame
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DVD details
Actor: Dave Getz, James Gurley, Janis Joplin, Peter Albin, Sam AndrewDirector: Michael Burlingame
Brand: RED Distribution
Editor: Michael Burlingame
Writer: Michael Burlingame
Producer: Ken Schur
Producer: Matt Friedman
Producer: Toby Byron
Writer: Toby Byron
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Published), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 58 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Pioneer Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Nine Hundred Nights - Big Brother and the Holding Co. with Janis Joplin
DVD Review: Big Sister And The Holding Company
Summary: 5 Stars
One of an interminable string of documentaries about San Francisco and the hippy scene, this one documents the formation of an eccentric psychedelic rock band Big Brother And The Holding Company and some of the work that they did putting together a sloppy, soulful rock unit that eventually hooked up with a young singer from Texas called Janis Joplin, a gifted singer who had once been called "the ugliest man on campus" at her university. They put out two albums and started getting some attention. Then they played the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, where they hung out with Los Angeles pop musicians like the Mamas and the Papas, as well as Jim Hendrix, Brian Jones, and Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Showing San Francisco music to the country for the first time, the band made a bad career move by refusing to sign away film permission for free and lost their place in history; Janis, however, did sign, and the film is only of her, making it look like Big Brother And The Holding Company were really only her backup band. Well... she probably was the most talented member of the band, as evidenced by the fact that none of the other members went on to make much of a mark after the band broke up later that year. To mark the point, the surviving members of the band talk about recording "Cheap Thrills", the band's second album, for a big studio and with a proper recording budget, and how the band would sweat for hours to lay down a basic track, only to watch Janis stroll in and do her vocals in one or two takes.
The documentary is quite good, covering a lot of history and emotions, and the extras are really great too. There are four full performances from three parts of the band's career, a photo gallery, and interview outtakes with the four surviving members of the band, New York rock critic Ellen Willis, rock historian (and guitarist for the Patty Smith Group) Lenny Kaye, as well as Nick Gravenites, who wrote songs for Janis and also appeared in Big Brother and the Holding Company. Seeing interviews with the four surviving members of Big Brother and the Holding company is interesting. You get to appreciate the intelligence of drummer David Getz, who came off as a bit of a dummy in the historical footage, and the aloofness of "star" guitarist James Gurley, whose star had been outshone by Joplin when she joined the band (Gurley died last week, on December 20th, after having survived the heroin overdose death of his wife in 1970 and years of hard rock `n' roll living). All members are asked "where were you when you heard that Janis had died?" It seems like they all heard from the same roadie, and they reacted in different ways, with Gurley being quite cool about it; no one was surprised, but only Sam Andrew - the rhythm guitarist who left Big Brother And The Holding Company with Janis to be part of her new Kozmic Blues Band - showed any real emotion.
Lenny Kaye's highly engaging interviews are the best in the collection, and he talks about the band with great reverence, as they seemed like the San Francisco band that he was most interested in seeing when he travelled across the country to join the scene in 1967. He had interesting tales to tell about his cross-country trip, about the scene, and the balance of male and female elements in the band, an important point considering his role in the Patty Smith Group.
Description of Nine Hundred Nights - Big Brother and the Holding Co. with Janis Joplin
NINE HUNDRED NIGHTS - DVD MovieRock Music CDs
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