Customer Reviews

Any Day Now

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disc of a 2 LP set is a very welcome and deserving reissue!!! With contemporary folk music again strong and healthy (after taking much of the `80s off), this album can stand alongside the best current albums as an engagingly different collection which can appeal to a new generation of folkers. The sound quality is crisp, clear and excellent.

The material -- many of the Dylan classics -- is unsurpassable. Her voice is at its zenith, young, supple -- neither undisciplined (as in her 1st records) nor the later, low vibrato warble. There is none of the self-conscious and silly Dylan vocal imitation found in Baez's later recording. Where Dylan's own singing is wonderfully raw and rough, Baez is clear and pure. Both are great for me, but very, very different from each other. These lovely renditions are like no one else's. Just pure Joan in her finest voice.

She is backed here by several of the very best of '70s Nashville session musicians (pickers). Some folks think of Nashville sidemen as inevitably bound up with Country Music. While this is not counter-country, it fits much more into folk -- as the names Dylan and Baez rightly connote. (Other great examples of great Nashville sidemen supporting a distinctive singer-songwriter (not really Country fare) are Jerry Jeff Walker's very first 2 releases, "Drifting Way of Life" and the original "Mr. Bojangles" album -- both in the late '60s. Jerry Jeff comes across so differently than in his later years.)

"One Too Many Mornings" is too often overlooked among Dylan's compositions, and this is among the best renditions I've heard. The full-length, unhurried treatment "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowland" is spell-binding and satisfying. Perhaps my favorite, though, is the subtle and poignant "Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather." Dylan's lyrical genius is fully manifest, in his gorgeous melody and Joan Baez's a wonderful performance.

For many of us who listened both then and recently, this pristine work inevitably reminds us how much has aged in the decades since this earlier era -- also recaptured so vividly in Dylan's own Chronicles.. These are timely works, both for reminiscence and to introduce newbies to the non-acid experiences that stirred an earlier generation.

But regardless of any social import, this is simply beautiful poetry and music.

Joan Baez has always had the knack of choosing the best songs for her style and voice. In "Any Day Now" there is no exception. Baez sings Dylan better than Dylan himself. While listening to this cd, you can simply here her respect toward great song writing. Baez shines while singing "Tears of Rage". Her crystalline voice moves one from within. Yet another bright song is "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" where Baez tells a story unlike any other singer. A definite must in a Joan Baez collection. Thank you Joan for singing Bob Dylan songs.

This album was the childhood favorite of a very dear friend of mine. He gave me the cd for Christmas, 2002 and I have very nearly worn the tracks off of it (an old vinyl saying!). I grew up listening to Dylan sing "Sad Eyed Lady", he grew up listening to Joan's version. We are both die-hard Dylan and Baez lovers to this day. Ms. Baez' renderings made me wonder so I have been scouring the internet for copies of "the way Dylan did these songs". My friend has moved on, now, but I shall always be greatful for his gift. This is a great disc! Ok, I admit that I don't like "Tears of Rage" very much. But that's just me and, on a cd, it doesn't matter. I just hit the button and move right into "Sad Eyed Lady" (which I always play twice, by the way. I REALLY love that song!!). If you enjoy Dylan's verse but would rather hear it sung by someone else, I strongly recommend you listen to this one. I think you'll like it.

For being a 1968 release it took me long enough to find it, but I think it is an excellent cd and for any Joan Baez and Bob Dylan fans it will be a perfect fit.

Any Day Now or Baez Sings Dylan are two albums where Joan sings all Bob Dylan songs so take your pick! Both are great as you cant go wrong with Joan or Bob or Joan singing Bob!

Her voice is beyond melodic and so strong. She is timeless and I actually bought this for my niece. She is beginning to listen to Hendricks and Joplin. I wanted to turn her on to Joan who was also one of the greatest, during that time period.

Joan Baez/ Any Day Now/ songs of Bob Dylan (Bonus Tracks): Everybody seems to know someone who just can't stand Bob Dylan's voice. If you want to treat that person to the art of Bob Dylan, get them this album. If you're a Bob Dylan fan, this album is going to be a treat for you as well. If you're a Joan Baez fan, well, you just have to have this one in your collection

This is an album of appealing Dylan interpretations and it's enlightening to hear his work from a female perspective. I heard some of Dylan's songs here first and only later experienced his own versions, for example I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine which is definitely very different (and more beautiful to me) in Baez's version.

Other great tracks include I Pity The Poor Immigrant (still as relevant as ever), Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word, the heart-breaking Walls Of Redwing (about inmates in a jail), One Too Many Mornings, Boots Of Spanish Leather and Restless Farewell.

Everything about this album is just SO RIGHT: her phrasing, the choice of songs and her elegant delivery. This is a classic folk album of the 1960s and also essential listening for Dylan fans. I love it. This re-issue contains two live bonus tracks that were recorded in Japan.

i've always loved Joan Baez's cover versions of Dylan songs (except for one: the Hard Rain's gonna fall version on her Europe '83 album where she tries to immitate Mr. Dylan). it's nice to see a few bonus tracks on this re-release on CD.

JohPWilbrand

Any Day Now finds Joan Baez backed by a decidedly pop ensemble, covering the 60's folk and folk-rock songs of her one-time lover Bob Dylan. As is often the case with cover albums, some of the songs hit harder and better than others, but Baez couldn't have chosen a better oeuvre to sample, so most of the lulls are due to performance issues. All in all, though, if you like Joan Baez and/or Bob Dylan, Any Day Now is a great choice.

As the album opens, it's clear that this music is not the stripped-down folk that typifies earlier Baez recordings. She's accompanied by steel guitar, drums, electric guitar and...sitar? It's interesting to hear Joan backed by a pop ensemble and, for the most part, it works.

The less-convincing numbers on this album are mainly due to Baez's choice of songs. It's not that the songs are bad, they just don't fit her as well as they could. For instance, Baez's calculated, classic, vibrato-heavy singing voice has a little trouble relaxing the way Dylan would on "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere." "Live Minus Zero/No Limit" is slightly bizarre, since it's sung about a woman, as is "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands." The latter was an epic, mysterious love song on Blonde on Blonde, but for Baez it makes you wonder why she's singing an 11+ minute love song to a woman. "Tears Of Rage," though it's admirable that Baez makes an artistic risk to sing the entire tune a cappella isn't all successful--this version doesn't come close to touching The Band's definitive rendition, or even Gene Clark's excellent version (from White Light).

Though Baez doesn't perfectly match up with some of Dylan's songs, she breathes new life and meaning into several of them. She brings gritty reality to the dark ballad "North Country Blues," and her arrangement brings new narrative life and emotion to the classic "Boots of Spanish Leather." Likewise, she chooses some lesser-known Dylan songs like "Love is Just a Four-Letter Word," "Walls of Redwing" and "Walkin' Down the Line," that bring a few surprises and mix things up a bit.

Any Day Now was originally a double album--it's great that it all fits onto one disc, even with two (disposable) bonus tracks to boot. Overall, I think it's a worthwhile album, with some excellent interpretations of Dylan's songs that occasionally brings them into new, unique light.