10 Perfect Posthumous Rock Albums
5. Pearl - Janis Joplin
As the '60s began to spread out a little more, there was still enough space for the blues to find a footing. Along with the more psychedelic acts of the time like Jefferson Airplane, people like Cream were showing us how much of the Mississippi Delta sound you could mix into their era of acid rock. Though we would manage to carry the blues up until the present day, we had to do so without the almighty Queen of blues rock.
After being the standout star of Big Brother and the Holding Company, Janis Joplin's first proper studio album Pearl came out in the weeks following her death from a drug overdose. What's even more surprising is how little the drugs seemed to slow her down, considering this might be the greatest work of her career, going for more bluesy material on Mercedes Benz and also having different sides of her singing on songs like Cry Baby.
It's really a shame that we lost her so young in her career, since a lot of these songs sound like she was just coming into her own, with Me and Bobby McGee giving us the little girl persona that was hidden beneath the rough exterior. While she might be known today as the bluesy belter who could drink her competition under the table, Pearl is what you listen to if you want to understand why Janis should be so missed.