Pearl was Janis Joplin's valedictory. It was also her masterpiece.
Originally released posthumously in 1971, Pearl encapsulates Janis’s greatness. The first female superstar of the modern rock era, Janis was not only a powerhouse performer of rock and blues but also showed an innate affinity for soul, country-inflected folk and even the Great American Songbook.
This new, two-disc edition of Pearl includes nine previously unreleased selections. Disc One’s bonus tracks include the touching tribute "Pearl" composed by Full Tilt Boogie, while Disc Two chronicles Janis’s 1970 trans-Canada Festival Express tour, and is sequenced to recreate one of the spellbinding shows from that summer…

The Cold War was a deadly game in the depths of the oceans. Nowhere was the contest more dangerous than in the darkened depths of the world's oceans: Far from their homelands, the superpowers spied upon each other at frighteningly close range. More than 20 collisions between American and Soviet submaries are only the tip of the iceberg as far as these secret operations are concerned. The underwater interface was perhaps the most merciless frontier between East and West. This documentary reveals previously unknown information from the military apparatus of both sides, and shows that submaries continue to be an important weapon in the espionage war even today.

Recorded on an off night during a European tour in 1991, this is a warts and all, no overdubs, unplugged session that captures the father and son duo at their most uninhibited. Basically, Carey and Lurrie Bell sat down in a studio in Kouvola, Finland, let the tapes roll for three hours, and this is the result. Why the finished product languished for 14 years in tour manager/co-producer Chip Covington's closet is unclear, but Alligator's long delayed yet welcome 2004 release shows the timeless quality of this deep Delta blues. The songs are sung by both guitarist son Lurrie and harpist dad Carey, and range from well-worn standards such as "Rock Me" (featuring a stunning acoustic guitar solo), "Key to the Highway," and "Five Long Years," to originals that follow established blues patterns. It's a relatively low-key performance, but the twosome show a natural affinity for each other…