In My Life

Judy Collins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 27, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B003NRYBCK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,919 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

A landmark album by any yardstick, 1966 s In My Life saw Judy make a bold leap from the folk-grounded arrangements and material of her previous work into a combination of folk, classical, pop, rock and art song that was dubbed as 'baroque folk.' In addition to the first appearances of Leonard Cohen songs on any release, this groundbreaking LP (#46 on the charts) includes distinguished covers of compositions by Bob Dylan, Donovan, Jacques Brel, the Beatles, Richard Fariña and a then-unknown Randy Newman. A masterpiece!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums ever made., December 7, 1999

By 

Monica Difranco "Mistress of Maniac Mansion" (Covina, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In My Life (Audio CD)

When I was a young folksinger myself, back in 1967, this album opened my mind, heart and soul up to the possibilities of what could be expressed in song. Every cut transports the listener to a different world, and helped me learn that I was allowed to feel all different types of emotions, and like lots of different types of music. Over these 32 years I have shared the album with special people, in vinyl, on tape and now on CD, and not one has failed to fall in love with it. This past summer on a trip to the Grand Canyon I played it in the car for some younger friends of mine, and it's on both of their Christmas lists this year. On their own, every song on the album is outstanding, from the contrast of fury and heartbreak in "La Colombe" to the rollicking humor of "Hard Lovin Loser" to the bitter pain of "Dress Rehearsal Rag", the exotic strangeness of "Pirate Jenny" and the airy innocence of "Sunny Goodge Street." And Collins may be the only person in the world ever to have covered a Beatles song, the title cut "In My Life," and done it better than the Fab Four did it originally. But even more amazing is that one woman put all these widely different songs together in one package, poured her silver voice over them, and created one of those precious things that you can hold onto forever as an expression of your own self.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Early Album From Judy Collins!, August 30, 2000

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In My Life (Audio CD)

I remember seeing Judy in concert in the quite informal setting of Avaloch, a wonderful sylvan natural amphitheater that all the folk stars from Collins to Joan Baez to Kris Kristoferson to Tom Rush to James Taylor performed at in Lenox Massachusetts in the summers of 1970. Sadly, it is now the site of a ritzy set of summer condominiums for the New York summertime Berkshires crowd. Yet I can still recall hearing Judy with that magical soaring voice of hers warming up on stage with "Amazing Grace" as we filed onto the grass, and the song so echoed and reverberated over the warm humid airwaves that the older folks at Tanglewood, some six or seven miles way, complained about the noisome interruption. It became an inside joke that Collins, Baez and others would playfully aggravate when performing for the very mellow crowd of counterculture fans. I recall a certain sweet aroma wafting through the air, too, and it wasn't the smell of cotton candy.

Of course, it probably goes without saying that I love most of the songs on this album, from the opening cover of Bob Dylan's "Tom Thumb's Blues" to the late Richard Farina's comical and upbeat "Hard Loving Loser" to Leonard Cohen's magically evocative "Suzanne', and his ironic and satirical "Dress Rehearsal Rag". Cohen's haunting and evocative lyrics are masterfully interpreted by Collins, an early champion of his amazingly poetic folk songs. Of course, the song propelling the sales of the album was "Suzanne", as well as an excellent interpretation of Lennon and McCartney's "In My Life". I love her amazing vocal work in "La Columbe", and her frightening interpretation of "Pirate Jenny", and one can feel the rush of emotions in both of the songs as she advances through them. This is an early snapshot of a one of the titans of modern American folk music, taken just as she reached the peak of her awesome vocal and collaborative talents. It is one sure to please the most discriminating of well-trained folk ears, and one I am sure you will come to treasure as much as I do. Enjoy.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In My Life, I've Loved You, Judy!, September 23, 2003

By 

H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In My Life (Audio CD)

This is the first album I ever heard by Judy Collins. I remember it well. A group of us English graduate students at a Southern state university sat around blown away by "Suzanne" and tried to figure out what it meant-- as only pretentious graduate students can. Although I didn't understand it then or now, it remains one of my favorite songs-- and no one with the possible exception of the writer himself sings it better than Judy. We owe her a debt of gratitude for introducing Leonard Cohen to the U. S.

Thre are so many other beautiful cuts here. I particularly like "La Colombe," Dylan's "Tom Thumb's Blues", and Randy Newman's "I think It's Going To Rain Today." Then there is Judy's incomparable version of "In My Life." She doesn't get better than this.