Customer Reviews

Complete A&M Recordings

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At last, the albums "Where Are You Now, My Son?" and "Gulf Winds" on CD. The deleted "Come from the Shadows" is also included. Unfortunately, all six of Joan Baez's A&M albums are crammed onto 4 CDs. It is convenient to have "From Every Stage," previously released as a double set, on one disc; but the combination of fragments of other albums is less than ideal. Song titles and track numbers are not listed on the discs, only in the booklet. The package seems designed for an epic listening session. The presumably-reduced price can be considered a plus for this configuration.

The sound is much improved from the earlier CD releases. Baez's voice is captured in all its middle-period shimmering richness and still-soaring purity. The instrumental details sound bright and clear. The liner notes are informative, and accurate (not always the case with A&M's Baez compilations). The author may make too much of Baez's re-connection to Bob Dylan during this time. The over-riding theme of her A&M years was political activism--from protest of the Vietnam war to involvement in the human rights movement. This was much more explicit than in her Vanguard years. As for continued relevance, the title song of "Where Are You Now, My Son?" can sadly apply to the current Iraq situation. This is not to ignore Baez's increasing skills as a writer and interpreter of non-political songs during this period. "Gulf Winds" is comprised of solely self-written material. New interviews with Baez and her producers were conducted. It would have been interesting to get Herb Alpert's take as a label founder on these years of her career. Most of the booklet photographs a fan will have already seen, but they are attractively presented. The original credits and liner notes are also included, but not the song lyrics.

One disappointment is the lack of previously-unreleased material. Of the three non-album singles: two are already available on other compilations. "Where's My Apple Pie?" is the only unheard song a die-hard fan will find here. I guess I'm spoiled by the Vanguard reissues with their--so far--generous bonus tracks. Were there no unreleased songs from the "From Every Stage" concerts? Combined with the new "Dark Chords on a Big Guitar" CD, this box set showcases the talent of a singer and songwriter not only engaged with the world, but willing to try in her way to make it better for others.

What a joy to hear all of my old albums again on CD, remastered no less. A wonderful collection, BUT as noted by another reviewer, there is no play list whatsoever included! It is beyond bizarre, considering there are four discs included in this collection so one has no idea what is contained on each! Like the reviewer before me, I had to print out Amazon's (thank you Amazon) play list page to insert into the packaging so that I can actually find a specific song I want to hear. Come on A&M Records, how clueless can you folks be?

I must admit I haven't even listened to every song on this 4-disc set yet. It just arrived today and I had to get on here and write a review right away. I grew up listening to Joan's tapes and records with my mother and her parents (and I'm only 19, which proves that her music has and surely will continue to span generations). I bought this CD in order to have the songs from the album Gulf Winds (previously unreleased in the US) on CD. I had it on a record and a tape, but both were obviously worn, and I'm absolutely delighted to now have it to keep for all time, and digitally remastered no less. Few people in the world have such a beautiful voice that you could listen to it forever and never get tired of it. Another select few have the ability to write lyrics that have all the eloquence and imagery of poetry, but with a down to earth message that make you feel as if she read your mind. Joan Baez is blessed with both gifts, as self-penned songs "Diamonds and Rust", "Time Is Passing Us By", and "Gulf Winds" indicate. As several other reviewers have pointed out, the packaging is a bit poor, but this is vastly overshadowed by the insightful liner notes (and of course the songs themselves). I would give this amazing album 6 stars out of 5 if I could, but for now I'm satisfied just to be able to listen to it every night.

Several previous reviewers mentioned no track listings in the booklet. Apparently, they were heard, as my copy has those as well as original album notes on the last pages. Great to have these albums on remastered CDs. Thank you early adapters!

I do agree with the others about the poor packaging especially the lack of track info. There's not even a decent reproduction of the original covers unless you use a magnifying glass.

Not crazy about the way Side A & B of Where Are You Now My Son were swapped, or how the first 3 tracks of Diamonds & Rust were awkwardly squeezed into the end of one CD.

Still I think Universal should receive more praise than scorn for at least making all these wonderful albums available and at a reasonable price. Where Are You Now My Son and Gulf Winds appear first time on CD and Come From The Shadows is practically unavailable unless you pay auction prices. All music is carefully remastered and that's what really counts.

After pleading and cajoling with A&M records for years, they finally remastered the recordings Joan Baez made while with their label and released them in one package. Her most politically sound and vigorous recordings were during this turbulent time in US history.

"Where Are You Now, My Son?" contains an audio recording of Baez' visit to Hanoi during Christmas of 1972 which included some of the worst of the US bombing raids. The plaintive voices of parents whose children have been killed by American bombs dropped from the sky is heartbreaking all these decades later.

The A&M collection also includes "Gulf Winds", of which the autobiographical song of the same name is worth the price of the entire set. It is Baez, a guitar and her voice telling her childhood in her own words. It is hauntingly beautiful as it explores concerns that are still of interest as she describes what it was like to grow up a brown-skinned girl in a world that values only white. "From Every Stage" is a live recording featuring Joan acoustically and with a band. One of the show stoppers on this album is her rendering of "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" from the recently released "Tangled up in Blue" by Bob Dylan. This CD includes two pieces never released before to sweeten the deal. This really is a wealthy of goodies for Joan's fans.

Joan Baez is one of the most memorable singers of the 60s and 70s, and she hasn't disappeared, as her 2003 album with modern protest songs demonstrates. This A&M compilation puts together her A&M LPs on 4 CDs, remastered and unabridged. This is great to have if you like classic folk music - solid songs performed by an excellent female folk singer. Note that this collection includes both studio and live material, which is why some songs appear more than once in the set.

This box set gives you the complete A&M Recordings (1972 -- 1976) containing Come From The Shadows (1972), Where Are You Now My Son? (1973), Gracias A La Vida (Here's To Life) (1974), Diamonds And Rust (1975), Gulf Winds (1976) and From Every Stage (1976). Also are a trio of 45-rpm b-sides making their digital debut on this compendium, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young", and Baez originals "Where's My Apple Pie" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew Yeh".

After a dozen years on Vanguard Records, her first effort for A&M was the politically-charged Come In From The Shadows. The album became notable not only for its' heavy Nashville influence, but also for the bold "Song Of Bangladesh," her open letter to Dylan on "Bobby," as well as the cover of John Lennon's "Imagine".


This was followed by Where Are You Now My Son?, which quickly became controversial due to her strident viewpoints on the continuing conflicts in Southeast Asia. The title track is a 26-minute semi-biographical epic, with ambient sounds documented by Baez in Hanoi, Vietnam during the final weeks of 1972. Its' brutal honesty did not sit well with many, although it re-established her as a key political and musical conduit.


This was followed by Gracias A La Vida (Here's To Life) which took an artistic detour as it was recorded in Spanish. It became no less of a controversial statement, containing a version of the Pablo Neruda poem "No Nos Moveran (We Shall Not Be Moved)". The government of Spain banned the work and it was deleted from subsequent pressings.

The brilliant and mostly non-political Diamonds & Rust became not only a touchstone for Baez, but was also considered essential listening in the mid 1970s. It remains resonant with the Dylan-influenced title composition, and the covers of Janis Ian's "Jessie," Jackson Browne's "Fountain Of Sorrow," the Allman Brothers' "Blue Sky" and John Prine's "Hello In There."


Her last studio offering for A&M was Gulf Wind. It yielded considerably lighter fare, reflecting much of the same escapism and ennui America was concurrently enduring. One of the most outstanding elements is the plethora of strong originals. Chief among them are "Oh Brother!" -- an admitted response to Dylan's "Oh Sister" -- and the picturesque title song, which Baez claims as having been influenced by an experience during Dylan's all-star Rolling Thunder Review tour.


Although technically From Every Stage was issued before Gulf Winds, for the sake of continuity the double-LP live collection concludes The Complete A&M Recordings (1972 -- 1976). Baez is spotlighted in both acoustic as well as band settings. Her repertoire at the time included tunes dating back to her days on Vanguard -- such as "Stewball" and "Blessed Are .." as well as a few that had yet to be recorded by Baez before. Among them were the civil rights anthem "(Ain't Gonna Let Nobody) Turn Me Around," and a reading of "Blowin' In The Wind" which would be used in the film Forrest Gump during the March On Washington scene.


The sound is spectacular as all 80 tracks have been thoroughly remastered. The accompanying 32-page booklet is replete with rarely publish photos, as well as reminiscences from the artist herself and faithful reproductions of the LP liner notes.

It is great to finally have all of the A&M stuff together but I agree with some of the points made by others. I feel that it is a bit of a mess as a set and not terribly well thought through as far as the packaging goes. I got the one with no track list on the discs and the only easy guide as to what is on the discs is on the back cover of the box and that is not set out very well either. I have made up my own detailed track list to slip into the booklet. As someone else said, there are no reprints of the original covers and the way the albums role over from one disc to the other looks lazy and as if whoever put it together just didn't really care about doing it right. What a shame. I would have been most happy to pay a little more for some thought, insight and effort deserving of the legend that is Joan Baez.
That said, it is all here finally and to that end, a most welcome addition to my huge Joan Baez collection.

For years I have been looking to replace my lost, "Come from the Shadows LP".On this great collection of Joan Baez recordings is the complete album.
Come from the Shadows contains memorable tracks such as Prison Trilogy,Imagine,and To Bobby.
This disc is worth the money of the set on its own however the other recordings contain some classic Joan.
Highly recommended for all Joan Baez fans.