Very Best of

Judy Collins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 21, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B00005MLVE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Singer-Songwriters
  • #12 in Music > Folk > Traditional Folk
  • #16 in Music > Pop > Oldies > Traditional Pop

Track Listings

1. Turn! Turn! Turn!/To Everything There Is a Season

2. So Early, Early in the Spring

3. Suzanne

4. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

5. Both Sides Now

6. Since You've Asked

7. Albatross

8. My Father

9. Someday Soon

10. Who Knows Where the Time Goes

11. Chelsea Morning (single version)

12. Farewell to Tarwathie

13. Song for Judith (Open the Door)

14. Cook with Honey

15. Send in the Clowns

16. Amazing Grace

Editorial Reviews

This definitive 16-track collection gathers signature singles and album cuts from her nine Elektra albums spanning 1964 to 1975. Co-produced by Judy Collins and featuring backing performances by Stephen Stills, Van Dyke Parks, Ray Baretto, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible Judy, December 23, 2001

By 

"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very Best of (Audio CD)

Judy Collins never really got credit for being one of the great folk singers of the 60s, perhaps because of her transformation later in life into an art/torch singer, perhaps because she largely did not write her own material. But this CD shows her range and versatility as a folk singer, featuring of course her immortal covers of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now and Stephen Sondheim's Send In The Clowns, but also showcasing a variety of beautiful and moving renditions of less familiar songs. Since You Asked and My Father particularly come to mind. If you already own Colors of the Day, her 1972 greatest hits album, the major addition here is Send in the Clowns; if you are looking for just one CD, this one is definitely better because of a more expansive selection.

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Folk at its most pristine, May 16, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Very Best of (Audio CD)

These sixteen tracks encompass all of Judy Collins' most popular and familiar songs and make for delightful listening. There are covers of songs by The Byrds (Turn! Turn! Turn!), Leonard Cohen (Suzanne), Dylan (Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues) and Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now) and Judy transforms them all with her beautiful voice. It's hard to pick favourites, but I love her version of Who Knows Where The Time Goes and Send In The Clowns more than any other versions. This graceful album concludes with her stunning a cappella rendition of Amazing Grace, a song that amazingly made the UK Top 20 in 1971. Once you've heard these songs, you'll want to investigate further and you won't be disappointed since Collins had a prolific output, all of which is good, most of which is great.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The voice of an Angel..., August 12, 2005

By 

Steven Cain (Temporal Quantum Pocket) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very Best of (Audio CD)

This is an exceptional album by any standards and ridiculous value.

While most of her classics are on here, there are many other tracks that blew me away - such as the ONLY example of the danceable, single version of Chelsea Morning to appear on an album.

The other two songs that were a surpsise sensation to me were Judy's own song, Since You've Asked, and her simply breathtaking version of the old whaling song Farewell To Tarwathie. This is made all the more haunting by the presence of whale song from humpback whales, which Judy added in herself, from a tape that came from a marine biologist friend, Dr. Roger Payne.

To cap it all, the mini booklet contains wonderful bio info and many stunning shots of this impossibly beautiful woman.

Invaluable.