[BC] 40 years later, we been had

[Alan Peterson]

The current MIX Magazine is confirming in its "classic tracks" series that the iconic "Cheap Thrills" album by Big Brother & the Holding Company was, in fact, not a live album recorded at the Fillmore auditorium but a studio effort.

Sorta what we thought all along. 

How else could the general absence of audience reaction be explained, especially in the breakout hit "Piece of My Heart"? Turns out the front cover wasn't lying: "Live Material Recorded at Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium"... nowhere does it say EVERYTHING was recorded live, just some "material."  It also turns out, according to the article, that the band wasn't so terrific in a live venue, so studio taping and editing was the only option if they wanted a decent album to release.

*sigh*... Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Monkees, Milli Vanilli, ... now this. There's nothing left to believe in anymore.

-ap