(Review from bbhc.com, allmusic, wikipedia, amazon)

Janis Joplin left Big Brother in December 1968 and Sam Andrew went with her to form the Kozmic Blues Band, while Peter Albin and Dave Getz joined Country Joe and the Fish and the band disintegrated.

In the fall of 1969, the band reformed around the same line-up (except Joplin); Albin, Andrew, Getz and Gurley were joined by Nick Gravenites (vocals), Dave Schallock (guitar) and Kathi McDonald (vocals).

Their 1970 album, “Be A Brother” is a good indicator of what they would have sounded like without Joplin’s amazing voice. These ten original compositions include “Home on the Strange”, “Mr. Natural”, “Funkie Jim”, and “I’ll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle” dedicated to Merle Haggard. This is a decent blues-based session similar to early Butterfield Blues Band records, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

The album is a taste of west coast sixties music. The songs pretty much all have that naive yet honestly hopeful quality that makes certain “hippy” songs still seem fresh after all those years. The musicianship has improved since the likes of cheap thrills, not that it was bad then, but now every note is exquisite, with a whole heap of different approaches to aid the variety of the songs.

Whether Big Brother & the Holding Company would have made any waves at all in the late-’60s San Francisco music scene without Janis Joplin could be argued. Nevertheless with this album, the band prove that they are more than just one great singer.

Line-up:
* Peter Albin / Bass, Guitar
* Sam Andrew / Bass, Guitar, Arranger, Vocals
* David Getz / Piano, Drums
* James Gurley / Bass, Guitar
* Kathi McDonald / Vocals
* Nick Gravenites / Vocals
* David Schallock / Guitar, Vocals
with
* Mike Finnigan / Keyboards, Vocals
* Richard Greene / Violin
* Ira Kamin / Keyboards

Track List:
01. Keep On – 4:21
02. Joseph s Coast – 3:10
03. Home On Strange – 2:15
04. Someday – 2:17
05. Heartache People – 6:36
06. Sunshine Baby – 3:30
07. Mr Natural – 3:31
08. Funkie Jim – 3:47
09. I’ll Change Your Flat Tire Merie – 3:14
10. Be A Brother – 3:04

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