Maids & Golden Apples

Judy Collins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 2, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wildflower
• ASIN: B00005NT3V
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,476 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Judy's first two, May 23, 2003

By 

klavierspiel "klavierspiel" (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Maids & Golden Apples (Audio CD)

It is a pleasure to listen to this album once again and to realize that Judy Collins' musical success has been based all along on her solid musical roots and training.

The songs on this CD, which remasters and transfers her first two albums (with a short bonus song, recorded later), are, with one or two exceptions, traditional folk material, sung in a strong, occasionally chesty alto voice that might surprise listeners used to the higher, lighter soprano heard on her later, folk-rock and pop albums. From the beginning, though, Collins had an ear for quality material--these folk songs hold up well after four decades, and at least one of the composed numbers, Ewan McColl's bitter anti-death penalty ballad "Tim Evans," has lost none of its bite or relevance, especially here in Texas.

Other highlights for me include rousing versions of venerable tunes such as "Fannerio" and the gospel-tinged "Twelve Gates to the City." The guitar playing throughout is superb, both from Collins herself and her collaborating musicians. As the notes to the album itself concede, the remastering of the analog original reveals some deficiencies in the original recording--also, the increased clarity exposes some sloppy tuning that was not so apparent on LP. Still, this is a CD that will provide much pleasure to those who remember Judy Collins' beginnings with fondness.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Maid Of Constant Talent & Good Taste, November 1, 2001

By 

Sasha "lampic" (at sea...sailing somewhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Maids & Golden Apples (Audio CD)

When a young artist names her first two albums not "Judy" or "Collins" but "A Maid Of Constant Sorrow" and "Golden Apples Of The Sun",you know she takes herself seriously.Originaly released in 1961. and 1962. their names were all I knew until I saw this CD recently."Who will buy this?" I wondered just to see the only copy snatched right in front of me.The comparisons with first two Baez albums are inevitable (some songs were recorded by both) althought Collins shows much more passion and involment where Baez seemingly seduces herself with the beauty of her voice.On these early albums Collins is frighteningly devoted keeper of the flame and her repertoire is almost exclusively traditional - which means not only ethereal beauty but also a certain (to some ears,overpowering) seriousness,cleverly mellowed by inclusion of joyous "O Daddy Be Gay",a cousin to her "Grandfather" recorded years later.Althought I honestly love these songs and listen only this CD for days,these early albums are today much more significant as seeds of Collins later trademarks (voice will soar much higher in the future,she slipped W.B.Yeats into traditional folk collection just to later blossom into first-rate art-pop singer) and as they were product of their Greenwich Village times,they may sound a bit dated to some modern ears.But they are still hauntingly beautiful to me,I waited their re-release for too long.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maids and Golden Apples, January 26, 2002

By 

D. Coons (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maids & Golden Apples (Audio CD)

Thanks to Judy Collins and Wildflower Records for liberating these wonderful recordings. While I have loved many of her later efforts (and disliked a few others), Ms. Collins' early albums have always remained among my very favorites. I had become concerned that they would never be released as CDs and have been obsessively guarding my vinyl copies.

While Judy never had the purest folk voice or most authentic provenance for her songs, she was still the most compelling folk singer of the sixties. In listening to these wonderful songs again, I was reminded that her ability to project emotion through a recording was just magnificent.

For Judy Collins fans, these are a great chance to hear her fresh and direct. For folk revival fans, they are absolute treasures.

So let's have the other two lost abums!