I happen to be a big anti-bullying person. I’m someone who was bullied incessantly in grade school up to the start of high school. So, I can relate to the parts of the story where Janis Joplin was tormented (essentially verbally bullied) for being different. I hadn’t known about that part of her life, and this knowledge gives me a connection to her that I didn’t have before. It also helps me understand the forces that made her such a troubled individual and lead her down the path that ultimately caused her untimely death. This is not really a happy story at all. Then again, Joplin’s story is really not a happy one. Sure, there were moments of joy, but overall it is about a person who went through adversity and torment that ultimately destroyed her. That is perhaps the real take-away here. Of course, this also goes into her music, and the sheer passion she had for it. It could definitely be argued that the music was the one thing that brought her joy and made her life bearable. Janis Joplin’s life was an unusual one. This documentary is an unusual music documentary because of that. It’s also a very special one.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.