IMHO Janis Joplin was overrated... but that's just me.

Last night, Bill and I were sitting around the fireplace, listening to a playlist made by Amazon.com.  Janis Joplin's version of "Summertime" came on.

I don't think it was the live version, though...

I had been enjoying most of the music put together on the Amazon playlist, but I had to skip "Summertime".  I have never enjoyed listening to Janis Joplin's screechy voice.  I shared my opinion on Facebook, and immediately got chastised for it.  ;-)

Lots of people loved Janis Joplin's unique take on music.  I won't say she wasn't talented or entertaining.  She was.  I just can't stand to listen to her screechy voice.  It's like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Janis Joplin sings about the Mercedes Benz...

There's no accounting for taste.  I know people admire her for "going for it".  She was definitely a force of nature.  I actually do like her take on "Me and Bobby McGee".  That's pretty much the only song she ever did that I like.  Or, at least it's the only one I've heard that I enjoy.  I will admit that I never really scoured her catalog for other stuff.  

Yeah... this one I like.

Janis Joplin is famously part of the "27 Club".  She died at age 27, just like Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, blue musician Robert Johnson, and Kurt Cobain.  Just like all of the rest of these rock luminaries, Joplin abused drugs and alcohol, and that is ultimately what led to her demise.  She was dead before I was born, so I never really got her mystique.  But then, I never thought Jim Morrison was that awesome, either.  

One person told me to watch her in concert and that would change my mind.  I have no doubt she was a mesmerizing performer.  But the sound of her voice when she howls and screams would make it impossible to enjoy her performance.  

But she gets an A for effort.  The only other version of this song I've ever heard was done by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.  I liked it more than this, although this is a pretty good rendition, too.  

Give me more melodious voices.  Or, if you have to be high or drunk when you perform, at least be like Kate Taylor (James's sister)...

Not a fabulous performance, but definitely entertaining.