Vanguard Sessions: Baez Sings Dylan

Joan Baez | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 23, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B000006NKQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,699 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #79 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > Folk Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Joan Baez isn't the best interpreter of Bob Dylan's songs (Nina Simone and the Byrds come to mind). She has, however, been one of his most unwavering partisans. Indeed, the queen of JFK-era folkies first recorded Dylan songs in 1963 when she was the more celebrated of the two and she's repeatedly returned to him as a source of material. Baez Sings Dylan collects covers cut for Vanguard in the '60s, though all but five of the 20 tracks come from her 1968 two- record, all-Dylan set, Any Day Now. Baez's rather formal phrasing works best with the more stately songs. "Tears of Rage" and "Restless Farewell," for example, are lovely and graceful. And it's a treat to hear obscure tunes such as "Farewell, Angelina" and "Walls of Redwing." On the other hand, the Bard of Hibbing's wordier exercises fall flat; she misses the sarcasm in "Don't Think Twice It's All Right" by a mile. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect (as only Baez can be) but..., December 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vanguard Sessions: Baez Sings Dylan (Audio CD)

But- I recommend this album to only casual fans. It is an unnecessary purchase for 'diehard' fans because the tracks can be found on other albums- specifically the majority are on Any Day Now. One qualm I have w/ this album is that it does not include Joan's singing of 'Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands',one of my favorite songs of all time- which IS on Any Day Now. My favorites on this album are: 2. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (haunting- from dylan's BIABH) 3. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (adorable country ditty- classic basement tape track) 4. It Ain't Me Babe (absolutely lovely, sweet and sad, from dylan's 'Another Side...') 6. Tears Of Rage (another basement tape selection- only Baez sings acapella, very striking, deep and powerful, emotional) 7. Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word (beautific, and ironic- w/ the history behind it (and there is no known recording of Dylan singing this, his tune, circulating today) 8. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (a gem from dylan's JWH, very meaningful, and inspirational- reminiscent of 'Joe Hill') 10. Dear Landlord (rockin' version, sing it Joannie! (also from JWH) 11. One Too Many Mornings (off Dylan's The Times They are A-Changing, a treat to listen to her version... you know Baez always sings w/ passion, and her voice is always angelic ) 13. Boots Of Spanish Leather (another classic from dylan's The Times They are A-Changin... she brings new life to this one as well) 14. Daddy, You Been On My Mind (never released on a Dylan album prior to Bootleg Series vol.1-3, this one was on Baez's earlier album Farewell Angelina, and also Bob and Joan had duetted w/ this one (on Live at Newport) but sang 'mamma...' so this is another treat- sang very reflectively and sweetly) 18. Drifter's Escape (this one is like a plea- she sings it just as Dylan had on JWH, what a song! so symbolic, Dylan and Baez leave you thinkin and wonderin)

Baez has her own interpretations of these songs, she breathes life into them, secondary to Dylan himself, but more of his female equal. They are opposites, but also twins--- FOR DYLAN FANS: I also recommend From Every Stage- for Love is just a 4 letter word, and I Shall be Released, Blowin in the Wind, Forever Young, and Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts. Also- Baez does a very cool version of 'Simple Twist of Fate' which can be found more than one album... but again, if you are a casual fan, you might want to pick up 'Joan C. Baez Greatest Hits' in one part she even sings with a dylan-esque voice/inflection as a parody/mock-out. very interesting. Baez is amazing, as always, on every one of her albums, as well as in person and in concert.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great music from the sixties!, January 4, 2004

By 

cyclista (the Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanguard Sessions: Baez Sings Dylan (Audio CD)

For a time, Dylan and Baez were considered the king and queen of folk music. Their effect on each other's careers is undeniable. Who else could sing Dylan's songs with such beauty and feeling than Joan Baez? I remember when people loathed Dylan's voice and said that he shouldn't sing his own songs. It seems ironic that now people should say Joan Baez's voice is too pretty to sing Dylan, especially when her recordings of his recorded and unrecorded songs arguably helped his career. It's a little weird to hear her versions described as covers, when Dylan never formally recorded some of these songs. Some of the songs he did not record until several years later. (Some of the songs are covers, of course, but not all.)

This is actually the second Joan Baez album of all Dylan songs. The first one was the album "Any Day Now" (1968), and fifteen of the songs from that album appear here. (The album "Any Day Now" is rated 4 1/2 stars by Amazon.com reviewers.) "Any Day Now" included one additional cut, "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands".

With the inclusion of the other five songs, you get the most famous of the Dylan songs that Joan Baez sang. They are:
It's All over Now, Baby Blue
It Ain't Me Babe
Farewell, Angelina
Daddy, You Been on My Mind
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

If you don't already own the album "Any Day Now", then this CD is a bargain with 20 songs and 73 minutes of Joan Baez's folk interpretations of Dylan songs. The recording quality is clear and crisp. There is no hint that these songs were all recorded in the sixties. This album is one of my favorites and I highly recommend it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful interpretations, November 28, 2004

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Vanguard Sessions: Baez Sings Dylan (Audio CD)

This is an album of superb Dylan covers and it's revealing to hear these songs from a female perspective. I heard some of Dylan's songs here first and only later experienced his own versions, for example I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine which is definitely very different (and more beautiful to me) in Baez's version. Other great tracks include I Pity The Poor Immigrant (still as relevant as ever), Love Is Just A Four Letter Word, the heart-breaking Walls Of Redwing (about inmates in a jail), One Too Many Mornings, Boots Of Spanish Leather and Restless Farewell. All of them beautiful melodic songs lovingly interpreted by Baez in her strong and pure folk voice. Everything about this album is just so right: her phrasing, the choice of songs and her elegant delivery. This is a classic folk album of the 1960s and also essential listening for Dylan fans. I love it.