Customer Reviews

Any Day Now: Songs of Bob Dylan

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This double album was given to me in 1976 by a friend who was dismayed at my taste for simple pop tunes at the time. It had the desired effect, and has remained special to me ever since. Recently I bought the CD as well, but it's the crackly sound of the vinyl record that takes me back to my Uni days when I blasted Ms Baez's crystal-breaking voice throughout my residential college. I don't think I have ever heard a clearer voice in all my life: it's like pure Snowy Mountains water. And of course, who better to sing Dylan than Baez - when you want it sung tunefully and with meaning! Her rendition of Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands remains in my all-time top 5 songs. I can't imagine it being sung any better. If you can appreciate sophisticated folk music, buy it. Joan Baez is the diva.

This is an album of superb Dylan interpretations and enlightening listening to hear his songs 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 diffrent (and more beautiful to me) in Baez's version. Other great tracks include I Pity The Poor Immigrant (still as socially 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 THE classic folk album of the 1960s and also essential listening for Dylan fans, even for those who think he sings well, he he! I love it.

Whether or not you enjoy this remarkable recording would most likely depend upon one or both of two factors: 1) do you like the woman's very distinctive voice applied to the rough-and-tumble verse and attitude of a Bob Dylan song? and 2) do you enjoy country-style folk music played by top-notch, improvisational musicians who are willing to step back just enough to allow the singer to maintain center stage? If you are a Joan Baez fan AND a country music fan (who can get past the obvious contradictions between those two musical worlds) then go directly to the nearest music store, or get this CD right here and now online. I am a Joan Baez fanatic who is ALSO a big Bob Dylan fan. I know several Dylan lovers who hate Joan Baez, and they can't stand this record. I think they are simply unable to get past a chauvinistic, macho dislike for the feminine and the beautiful in their music. Does Baez strip some of Dylan's work of its grit and grime, and therefore some of its power? Perhaps, but I don't give it too much thought anymore, because what Baez brings to the proceedings here, besides her obvious reverance for Dylan's songs, is an ability bring out the MELODIES that Dylan composed, which, with all due respect to the Songwriting Genius, he himself barely sang. Because Baez's precise diction, pronounced vibrato and soaring soprano are rather out of fashion these days, younger listeners may have to make some effort to get used to her style, but close listening (get in the headphones and crank up the volume) and patience, should pay off in the end. I should mention, too, the deepening in Joan's voice that began to occur around this time in her long career. Her ravishing low notes are by turns lovely like a cello and then somewhat nasal and twangy -- perfectly suited to this kind music. Her full range is heard on "Boots of Spanish Leather" and the amazing "Restless Farewell."
Contrary to what another reviewer on this site felt, this album is anything BUT bland! The countrified instrumentation is simply gorgeous throughout, adding something mysterious and haunting to Joan's intense vocals. Listen to how Grady Martin's electric sitar sends a mournful chill into the heart of "North Country Blues," or how a lovely, liquid guitar line shades the melancholy in "One Too Many Mornings," and how Joan can't help but get down with the boys in the band on the rock 'n' roll numbers "Drifters Escape" and "Dear Landlord," because they are both energetic and obviously fun to play. Joan must have been beside herself with joy to be able to sing with these guys and she definitely rose to the occasion, critics be damned. The much lauded rendition of "Love Is Just A Four Letter Word" is indeed a definitive performance, but it is by no means the only reason to buy, as it is equalled several times throughout ANY DAY NOW, most notably on the gospel-styled title song, (complete with a rousing chorus), and the incredible epic "Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands." There are many subltle pleasures to be discovered with repeated listenings to this album, and after all these years it remains not only my top favorite Joan Baez album, but one of my all-time favorite records, period.

Way back in the early '70's my sister came home from her college classes with a copy of ANY DAY NOW she had borrowed from a friend. He never got it back. Dylan had written so many songs by then you could fill a double album and not even record any of his monster hits. I already knew as a young teenager Dylan was a wordsmith master, but I always had doubts about his musical abilites. Until I heard this album. What Baez does for Dylan's songs with her pure and crytaline voice is to reveal the musical beauty of these songs, the notes Dylan wrote but could not reveal with his limited range. The fact that Baez has a deep understanding and love for these songs is obvious, the fact that she's able to communicate it to the rest of us is her special gift. Her vocals are so assured, her pitching so dead right on, she's able to sing the 4 minute "Tears Of Rage" accapella. And when she's done you realize any instrument would have just gotten in the way. It's a powerful, stunning moment in music. To have the 11 minute "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" follow (the album's best cut) with it's country-ish arrangement is to experience one of the best sequentiality in record making. Most of the arrangements lean to the country side of music, as opposed to the folk side, so that there's more of a "bounce" to the album. There is a giant handful of great Dylan songs waiting to be discovered for the uninitiated. And for the hardcore Dylan fan, a revelation.

For me, this album is the finest Joan Baez has ever made! The material is unsurpassable. Her voice is at its zenith. The '70s Nashville session musicians (pickers) and arrangements are as good as they come!

This little gem is my favorite Baez album. It is a simple, very beautiful collection of Dylan songs. No big hits here (unless you are the kind of Dylan fanatic who considers "Sad-eyed lady of the Lowlands" a big hit). Nothing to distract you from the simple beauty of the music. Dylan is seldom simple, and in this macho phase, tries hard not to be beautiful. Baez' sweet voice brings out something that was there, but you would not have known or noticed had she not sung. That's what's special about this album. My all-time favorite has to be "Love is just a four-letter word" which strike me, each time I hear it, as the recollection of an unintentional moment of shared intimacy between mother and son. Very tasty.

This beautiful collection of Bob Dylan songs performed by Joan Baez is my favorite album/CD of the since the 1960s. She has a rich powerful voice and beautifully interprets Dylan's poetry and music. There isn't a bad track on the whole CD, although Tears of Rage can get a little tedious. Buy this CD, skip the one by Judy Collins singing Dylan - she just doesn't cut it.

This is one of the finest musical endavours to have been recorded during the turbulent 1970s. Bob Dylans' music comes to life when Baez sings it, and holds an intimate sway over the listener,both soothing and thought provoking. Any day Now is the kind of CD you can listen to over and over again, only to discover new shadings each time. It also goes beautifully by candle light.
Buy and enjoy. This is one of Joans best. And no one will ever interperate Dylan with such grace again.

I prefer Baez with acoustic guitar, but I've played tracks of this 1968 recording over and over, first on LP, now on CD. It's at times too country for me, but the best tracks are so very good. For me, these are "Restless farewell," "I shall be released," "Tears of rage" and the 11+ minutes of "Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands." I've spent many hours of my life listening to Dylan and Baez do the last of these without every being able to stay focused on the words. The sound always mesmerizes me!

As much as I like Dylan (and I like much of his work a great deal), I'd rather hear Baez sing it.

"With your sillouette when the sunlight dims
into your eyes where the moonlight swims"
Where does Dylan come from anyway? This has to be the most evocative line from the most beautiful love song ever written.
Baez' interpretation makes it all the more beautiful. All sorts of nice touches also - note the fiddle crying in the background of the stanza "The farmers and the businessmen..."
I'll never get tired of this song. It always sounds like the first time I heard it.