Play Me Backwards

Joan Baez | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 12, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000002UJ3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,452 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Play Me Backwards

2. Amsterdam

3. Isaac & Abraham

4. Stones in the Road

5. Steal Across the Border

6. I'm With You

7. I'm With You (Reprise)

8. Strange Rivers

9. Through Your Hands

10. The Dream Song

11. Edge of Glory

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1992 album including a bonus disc of previously unreleased demos. Play Me Backwards holds a very special place in the rich 50 year recording history of Joan Baez. The album's sessions brought her back to Nashville for the first time since 1971. On this album, Joan reaffirmed her unique ability to identify and interpret successive generations of songwriters whose music had the ability to speak to her: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ron Davies and Janis Ian to name a few. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best "Comeback" Albums Ever, January 28, 2000

By 

Mark R. Thivierge (Brighton, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Play Me Backwards (Audio CD)

Without a record deal for over a decade, many considered Joan Baez to be a washed-up icon from another era by the early '90s. Though her influence was certainly felt -- in artists ranging from Tracy Chapman to the Indigo Girls -- she had hardly been "present" in any tangible sense (save for a benefit concert here and there and a couple of independent releases).

In planning her first major label release since 1979, Baez was faced with a nearly insurmountable task: Appear fresh and "hip" enough to attract attention of the new audiences (a good deal of which weren't even born when she released her first album), while at the same time drawing on her rich musical legacy. And to say that she accomplished both goals would be a gargantuan understatement.

The mood of PLAY ME BACKWARDS is contemporary -- with crisp ballads and uptempo acoustic rockers setting the tone -- while at the same time, graceful, honest and very much in keeping with the type of music Baez should be making at this stage of her career. She avoids the desperate attempts to be trendy and cool that other rock "legends" have made, relying instead on integrity and understated elegance.

About half of these tunes are self-penned (either on her own or in collaboration with other tunesmiths), and the rest are provided by younger composers (Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Janis Ian, John Hiatt) who openly acknowledge Baez' influence on their work. The result is a remarkably coherent and satisfying album, perhaps Joan's best work since DIAMONDS & RUST.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding rhythms & music, February 23, 2001

By 

Nanci "Book Dragon" (Tri-Cities, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Play Me Backwards (Audio CD)

Yes, Joan still has it. In fact I enjoyed this album more than any she has made save Diamonds and Rust. While the songs still have substance, and still can fit the folk genre (if genres you must have), the rhythms & music are more complex than previous works. And on this album Joan sings, not showcases her voice, just sings. I enjoyed it greatly for this. My main attraction in picking up the CD was the song "Amsterdam" penned by Janis Ian. Other songs hold up, and I wouldn't not recommend any. Let's hear it for a singer with substance and integrity.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joan Baez Take a Giant Leap Forward with "PLAY ME BACKWARDS", March 27, 2007

By 

William S. Rothstein "William S. Rothstein" (St. Petersburg, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Play Me Backwards (Audio CD)

A good CD will entertain and perhaps, even entice. A great CD will also make you think. And then there are those handful of artists who create an enchanting, magical work that takes the listener to a place they've never before been. Joan Baez has created such a piece with her CD "PLAY ME BACKWARDS". Filled with ethereal sounds and exotic beats, Ms. Baez is lightyears away from the acoustic simplicity of her early work, yet the purity and crystal clarity of her voice still eminates directly from her soul and commands center stage. Never one to shy away from controversy, this experimental piece is filled with risks, and they all pay off in the end. For instance, the title track "PLAY ME BACKWARDS" deals with religious ritual and child abuse-hardly the stuff that top 40 music is made of-and in the hands of a less skilled writer and singer, this song could have been a disaster. Instead, it is a brilliantly understated and magnificently presented work that sends shivers up the listener's spine. Juxtapose this with a gospel-inspired "I'm With You" and the CD begins to take you on an up-and-down journey of monumental proportions. Hidden in between the "big" music are tiny little gems which, upon second and third (and more) listening begin to coax you further along the journey. On "Amsterdam", a delicate love song by Janis Ian, Ms. Baez achieves exactly the right tone to bring this paper-thin song to life, and Mary-Chapin Carpenter's "Stones In The Road" is given a breath of fresh air in this wonderful rendition. While other "showier" songs on this flawless CD tend to reach out and instantly grab the listener (such as the Dali-esque "The Dream Song" with its soaring violins and haunting viola, and the triumphant "Edge Of Glory", for this reviewer, it is John Stewart's "Strange Rivers" that is most enchanting. When I interviewd Ms. Baez in the early 90's, she explained that "Strange Rivers" was recorded after a half hour of rehearsal, and then recorded live in the studio, while she jammed with the two other guitar players on this song. "We actually were able to look at each other's faces as we played" she exclaimed, "imagine that!." Truth be told, I love Joan Baez, but have found some of her work to be a mixed bag. That is absolutely not the case with "Play Me Backwards". This is a genius work from one of the greatest women in American music.