Customer Reviews

In My Life

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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.

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.

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.

This set was produced at a very special time in Collins' and, indeed, pop music's history, a time when the walls separating virtually all sort of music vanished. By 1966,Collins' days as a pure folkie had passed and here she took on, with amazing success, a dazzling array of material, everything from material from "Three Penny Opera" and "Marat/Sade" to the Beatles ("In My Life," which to me remains the definitive performance of the piece) to art songs by Jacques Brel ("Le Colombe"), Leonard Cohen ("Suzanne," "Dress Rehearsal Rag") and Randy Newman ("I Think It's Going to Rain Today"). There's a nod to the folk scene, of course, in Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and Richard Farina's "Hard Lovin' Loser" as well, but in haunting or wry transformations. Stunningly arranged, often by Joshua Rikfin, and beautifully sung, the album remains a beautifully wrought, wonderfully sung and timeless classic. Now and then, Collins would come close to matching her work here again as she transformed into a less-engaging pop chanteuse in the '70s and '80s, but she never consistently topped her work and the selections on this set.

This album marked Judy Collins' departure from a straight folk repertoire. While it didn't cause quite the uproar of Dylan's "going electric," it was pretty revolutionary in its own right. Musically it anticipated the symphonic rock of "Sgt. Pepper" et al. a year later. It should be stressed, however, that the string arrangements were well suited to the material, never overdone. (Some critics were unkind in their evaluation of her version of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," finding it way too "pretty"--but while it created a completely different mood from the original, it was certainly a valid interpretation--more meditative and wry than Dylan's own).

This is the one album where Judy's dramatic flair is clearly evident. By incorporating harder edged theatrical material (Brecht & Weill's "Pirate Jenny" and a brilliant pastiche from Weiss's "Marat/Sade"), along side the folk and pop, she did her part to make the 60s generation aware of the dramatic posibilities in popular music--and also of the existence of "protest music" apart from the folk and rock idioms.

This album has played a significant part for over half of my life. In many ways it was my first grown up album, I had previously slurped to the Spector Wall of Sound and the ubiquitous Motown sound. I was inspired by this album and it is an inspiration that has never paled. I wore out two vinyl copies and looking back over the albums that had brought me to who I am today this one is one of the best ever and I just knew that Amazon would have a CD copy lurking on some shelf somewhere.Do they have shelves at Amazon?

Write a review for a masterpiece? Are you kidding? All I know is when this album came out I was a senior in high school, and essential listening then was Up Up And Away, Do You Know The Way To San Jose?, I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night and Incense and Peppermints. Needless to say Judy made a whole lot bigger impression on me. In My Life was my initial introduction to the world of Judy Collins. What followed was a fantasmogloria of songs by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan and more. Was there ever a better interpreter of the aforementioned composors? I sure don't think so.

But lucky me...A few short years ago I was seated at Elines in NYC, having a late night supper and who do you suppose was seated right next to me?...Yeah, Judy!!!! Well at least I had my golden opportunity to thank her for all the wonderful hours of listening pleasure she brought me.

Take it from me. In My Life and Wildflowers are ESSENTIAL listening. Forget all that Incense and San Jose Up Up and Too Much To Dream nonsense. This one is timeless and forevever. Thank you once more Sweet Judy Blue Eyes.

Judy Collins' "In My Life" has always been highly referred to as being innovative, artsy, and classy; and all of these accolades are quite true. For with "In My Life", Judy straddled the gap between pure folk music and popular music in many of its delineations, setting the pace for musical artistry.

The orchestral arrangements which would come to the forefront with her following release, "Wildflowers", show their origins in her work with this strong 1966 release as evidenced by the lovely, almost classical-sounding arrangement given to Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", the opening cut, and two other extremely strong tracks - "Marat/Sade" and "Pirate Jenny", both from the theatre and both important in the messages the artist wishes to convey: the inappropriateness of political and social oppression with the former and the need for equality with the latter.

Elsewhere on this album there are further strong musical commentaries including "La Colombe", a fierce anti-war diatribe, and the very first recordings of songs by the incredible songwriting master, Leonard Cohen: "Dress Rehearsal Rag" and most importantly "Suzanne", a beautiful folk-pop number about how one's love can be as strong and as equal whether the subject of one's love/desire be as lowly as Suzanne "wearing rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters" or a lofty as Jesus Christ, Himself.

Another track which is potent in its meaning and, given the same sublime solo-acoustic guitar treatment as "Suzanne", reaches new pinnalces of meaning thereby, is the title track, a beautiful rendering of The Beatles' "In My Life".

I also really love the fun of Richard Farina's "Hard Lovin' Loser", with its great keyboard arrangements and jazzy drum highlights, and Donovan's hippy-dippy "Sunny Goodge Street". "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" is also a standout cut, stark in its performance, highlighting Randy Newman's bleak lyrics of portend.

Judy's vocals on this album are just amazing: she sings with a ferocious fervor on "Pirate Jenny", "Marat/Sade" and "La Colombe"; an almost accusatory exactness on "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag"; a rock-and-roll verve on "Hard Lovin' Loser"; a loving, touching sweetness on "Suzanne" and "In My Life". All the emotions that each of the eleven tracks on this album hold are fully realized in her gorgeous singing.

Judy Collins' "In My Life" is one of those albums from the mid-1960s which showed that the true artists populating the music scene at that time were quite serious about the intent to bring change into the world via their artistic sensibilities; and Judy Collins was certainly at the forefront of that endeavor. "In My Life" was cutting-edge in its time and still is.

It's not very surprising how this album is regarded as Judy Collins' finest effort. Although this record didn't feature any of her own compositions, Judy has never been more marvelous than she is here. She covers a wide territory of styles and makes the daring move of setting the songs to orchestral arrangements. From the theatrical "Marat/Sade," to the dramatic "La Colombe," Judy's voice shines amid Joshua Rifkin's musical backdrop. However, it is actually Judy's readings of the contemporary material here that set her aside from the rest of her 60s peers. Dylan's "Tom Thumb's Blues" and the Beatles' "In My Life" are perhaps the loveliest covers of these songs ever done. Cohen's "Suzanne" is here and Judy's take on it is absolutely superior. The frenzied piano on "Hard Lovin' Loser" and the magnificent "Sunny Goodge Street" are some of the strongest performances in Judy's career.

Although Judy continued in this vein with the subsequent WILDFLOWERS, it seemed that after that album, she never matched the intensity of IN MY LIFE again. WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES had some problems with it, mainly due to an overcooked country/western veneer. Her later albums are still good, the best being 1973's TRUE STORIES AND OTHER DREAMS, which showcased her songwriting abilities in top form, yet even an effort such as 1975's JUDITH, although remarkably diverse in its range of styles, has problems because it indicated that Judy was headed straight into the world of easy-listening pop that would dominate the rest of her later recordings. So it just so happens that IN MY LIFE was and still is the album that has yet to be matched. But hey, maybe there is supposed to be only one best....

This album ranks right up there with "Sargent Pepper" in importance. Some of her most frequently played songs are in this classic album, such as, "Suzanne" or of course the title track, "In My Life" . It represents a turning point in her career which like many artists of the genre paralelled that of Dylan in its change from a more purist accoustic style to a more instrumentally open style where poetry could be interpreted with much less musical correctness than traditional folk required.
Artists who either were or would become icons of the era of the folk renaissance, Dylan, Donovan, Leonard Cohen, the late Richard Farina (the only artist to ever be considered at that time on a par with Dylan in lyrics) can be found here. Bertolt Brect is in this album as well, which is appropriate because of Judy Collins continuous connections as an artist to the theater. There are no blah tracks. Every song is excellent and classic. The musical arrangements are in every song perfect and flawless. As of this writing there are only five copies left. Get it before it gets discontinued and only a few songs remain on some "Greatest Hits" album.