Pearl
Studio album by  Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band
Released	January 11, 1971
Recorded	July 27 – October 4, 1970
Studio	Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre	Blues rock soul blues blue-eyed soul funk rock
Length	34:10
Label	Columbia
Producer	Paul A. Rothchild
Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band chronology
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969) Pearl (1971) In Concert (1972)
Singles from Pearl
"Me and Bobby McGee / Half Moon" Released: January 12, 1971 "Cry Baby / Mercedes Benz" Released: 1971 "Get It While You Can / Move Over" Released: 1971

Pearl is the second and final solo studio album by Janis Joplin, released on January 11, 1971, three months after her death on October 4, 1970. It was the final album with her direct participation, and the only Joplin album recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, her final touring unit. It peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, holding that spot for nine weeks. It has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA.

Content

The album has a more polished feel than the albums she recorded with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Kozmic Blues Band due to the expertise of producer Paul A. Rothchild and her new backing musicians. Rothchild was best-known as the recording studio producer of The Doors, and worked well with Joplin, calling her a producer's dream. Together they were able to craft an album that showcased her extraordinary vocal talents. They used Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles.

The Full Tilt Boogie Band were the musicians who accompanied her on the Festival Express, a concert tour by train of Canada, in the summer of 1970. Many of the songs on this album were recorded on the concert stage in Canada two months before Joplin and the band started their Los Angeles recording sessions. The band also appeared twice on The Dick Cavett Show. They also played many American cities, both before and after Festival Express, although no recordings of those concerts have been officially released.

All nine tracks that she sings on were personally approved and arranged by Joplin. Pearl features the #1 hit "Me and Bobby McGee", on which she played acoustic guitar, written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster; "Trust Me", by Bobby Womack, written for Joplin; Howard Tate's "Get It While You Can", showcasing her vocal range; and the original songs "Move Over" and "Mercedes Benz", the latter co-written by Joplin, Bobby Neuwirth, and Michael McClure.

Joplin sang on all tracks except "Buried Alive in the Blues", which was actually a backing track in which she had not yet recorded vocals. The song's writer Nick Gravenites was offered the opportunity to sing it as a tribute to Joplin, but he turned it down, so the song ended up as an instrumental. The recording sessions, starting in early September, ended with Joplin's untimely death on October 4, 1970. Her final session, which took place on Thursday, October 1 after a break of several days, yielded her a cappella "Mercedes Benz." It was the last song she recorded before her death. The album cover, photographed by Barry Feinstein in Los Angeles, shows Joplin reclining on her Victorian era loveseat with a drink in her hand.

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Rolling Stone	(favorable)
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Village Voice	A–

In 2003, the album was ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, moving to 125 in a 2012 revised listing. It was moved to a 259 ranking in the 2020 list.

Track listing