Big Brother & the Holding Co — Hold Me - Live in Germany
(Dig Music DIG127, 2007, CD)
by Peter Thelen,
Published 2008-01-01

For the better part of forty years the core members of Big Brother
(Peter Albin, Dave Getz and Sam Andrew on bass, drums and guitar
respectively) have been playing together, and by now are an amazingly
tight unit. Their endless dilemma is trying to find singers who are
great enough to fill the shoes of the late, great Janis Joplin. This
time they certainly did! The disc at hand was recorded at the end of a
European tour at the Burg Hertzberg festival in the summer of 2005, and
features the amazing and soulful vocal talents of NY based rock singer
Sophia Ramos, who steps up to the plate capably, both on the older
numbers as well as a few new songs the band presented here. She belts
out classics like "Down on Me," "Turtle Blues," "Ball and Chain," "Women
Is Losers" and "Summertime" effortlessly, with all of the power and
passion that one could hope for, even upping the ante sometimes. Also
featured on this set is second guitarist Chad Quist, who meshes with the
core three members perfectly. This set is also available as a DVD with
three additional tracks included on the band's website. Another
astonishing live show from a superb and timeless band!
Filed under: New releases, Issue 35, 2007 releases
Related artist(s): Big Brother & the Holding Company