| How Hard It Is | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Studio | CBS Studios, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 37:23 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Roscoe Segel, Roy Segal | |||
| Big Brother and the Holding Company chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C [2] |
How Hard It Is is the fourth and final studio album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, released in 1971.
with:
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some initial personnel changes, the band became well known with the lineup of vocalist Janis Joplin, guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer Dave Getz. Their second album Cheap Thrills, released in 1968, is considered one of the masterpieces of the psychedelic sound of San Francisco; it reached number one on the Billboard charts, and was ranked number 338 in Rolling Stone's the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Cheap Thrills is the second studio album by American rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was their last album with Janis Joplin as lead singer before she started a solo career. For Cheap Thrills, the band and producer John Simon incorporated recordings of crowd noise to give the impression of a live album, for which it was subsequently mistaken by listeners. Only "Ball and Chain" was actually recorded in concert at Winterland Ballroom.
Shady Grove is a 1969 studio album by Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Asshole, the second solo album by Kiss's Gene Simmons, was released in 2004 on Sanctuary Records. Its controversial title does not appear on the front cover. On the side of the CD case the title reads "asshole". "It's just another way of me saying, 'I don't care what anyone says about me," Simmons declared. "I'm preempting what people say and therefore diffusing the power of my detractors."
Fleetwood Mac in Chicago is an album by the rock band Fleetwood Mac released on 5 December 1969. It was the result of a recording session in early 1969 at Chess Records in Chicago with Fleetwood Mac, then a young British blues band, and a number of famous Chicago blues artists from whom they drew inspiration. The album has also been released, with slightly different track listings, under the titles Blues Jam at Chess and Blues Jam in Chicago Volumes One and Two.
Nicholas George Gravenites is an American blues, rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his work with Electric Flag, Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influential bands and individuals of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s. He has sometimes performed under the stage names Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy.
In Concert is a live album by Janis Joplin. It was released in 1972, after Joplin's death, as a double-LP record. The first record contains performances with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the second with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, recorded at various locations in 1968 and 1970. The album lacks any live recordings with her first solo effort with the Kozmic Blues band though songs that had been produced with that band were performed in the recordings of the Full Tilt Boogie Band. The Photographs used for the gatefold album were taken by photographer David Gahr in New York City in 1969 and 1970.
Live at Winterland '68 is an album by Janis Joplin with her band Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was recorded at the Winterland Ballroom on April 12 and 13, 1968, and includes live renditions of songs from their studio albums.
Bad to the Bone is the fifth studio album by American blues-rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released in 1982 by the label EMI America Records and contains their best known song, "Bad to the Bone". The album also features Rolling Stones side-man Ian Stewart on keyboards. A special edition of the album was released in 2007 to mark the 25th anniversary of the album's original release.
Farewell Song is a 1982 collection of nine previously unreleased recordings of Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band, and Full Tilt Boogie Band. Tracks include Cheap Thrills-era outtakes and live performances; "Misery 'N", "Farewell Song", and "Catch Me Daddy".
Pink Cadillac is the sixth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1979.
Yes Indeed!! is the fourth album by Ray Charles, released in 1958 by Atlantic. It was the second of three Atlantic LPs that compiled Charles' hit singles for the label.
Be a Brother is the third album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, released in 1970. It was their first album after Janis Joplin's departure. Recruited in her place were guitarist David Shallock and singer-songwriters Nick Gravenites and Kathi McDonald.
Can't Go Home Again is an album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, released in 1997.
The Woodstock Experience is a box consisting of a set of studio albums and live performances from the 1969 Woodstock Festival by the artists Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, and Johnny Winter. Each set consists of the 1969 studio album by the artist as well as each artist's entire Woodstock performance. The set was released as both a box containing all five artists, and also as individual releases separated by artist, each containing the studio album and live performance of that artist.
The Dirty Dozen is the fourteenth studio album from blues rock artist George Thorogood and the Destroyers. The album was released on July 28, 2009. The Dirty Dozen reached #1 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums and was on the chart for 11 weeks.
Like Flies on Sherbert is the first solo album released by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton. He had previously recorded a collection of songs in 1969 and 1970, ultimately titled 1970, but this was not released until 1996. Released in 1979, Like Flies on Sherbert was recorded at two Memphis studios, Phillips Recording and Ardent Studios, in 1978 and 1979. Chilton had previously been a member of the Box Tops and Big Star.
Mourning In the Morning is an album by the American blues singer and guitarist Otis Rush, released in 1969. Characterized as his first album, Rush had been cutting singles since 1955. The album fuses Rush's deep blues sound with soul and rock. The album was panned by many critics, but has since developed a cult following.
Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 is a live album by Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin. The album was recorded by Owsley Stanley in 1968, and released on 12 March 2012 through Columbia and Legacy, on the one-year anniversary of his death in an automobile accident. He had been supervising the development and release of this album right up to the time of his death on March 12, 2011. The album is dedicated to him, and set to the specifications Stanley set prior to his death.
Cheaper Thrills is a live album by Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin as their lead singer. Recorded live at one of their earliest concerts in San Francisco at California Hall on July 28, 1966, it includes the band's rendition of the song "Let the Good Times Roll," which was ten years old at the time. The recording of this concert became officially available to the public for the first time in 1984. The LP was originally released by Rhino Records as RNLP 121. Big Brother drummer David Getz produced and contributed liner notes to the back cover with his personal reminiscences of the circumstances leading to the formation and success of the band. The live material on this release was also released as Cheaper Thrills, 1984, Edsel Records (UK), and Live in San Francisco 1966, 2002, Varese.
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