1. Silver Dagger*
2. East Virginia*
3. Fair Thee Well (1,0000 Miles)
4. Hiouse of the Ruising Sun
5. Alll My Trials
6. Wildwood Flower
7. Donna Donna
8. John Riley
9. Rake and Rambling Boy
10. Little Moses
11. Mary Hamilton*
12. Henry Martin
13. El Preso Numero Nueve
A-
Joan Baez has a beautiful voice. Unfortunately she also has a tendency to launch said voice into the stratosphere, and engage in operatic warbling that feels like a knife in the ear. But she can also lower her voice to a gorgeous whisper that trembles and quavers most beautifully. This was her first album, and I suppose she hadn't quite learned to rein in her vocal excesses. The result is an album that is very beautiful but occasionally strident. I honestly really enjoyed this. There are some great choices on here, all well performed. "East Virginia" and "Mary Hamilton" are beautifully done. By covering "The House of the Rising Sun" Baez takes a story of a youth wasted iin debauchery and turns it into a story of a young woman forced into prostitution. And honestly, what do you make of an album by an attractive woman in 1960 that opens with "Silver Dagger", as dark a proclamation of voluntary spinsterhood as you could care to hear.
There are also a few beautiful religious songs on this album, in "All My Trials" and "Little Moses", and Baez's personal views on personal freedom shine through on the gorgeous "Donna Donna", a dark song about calves led to slaughter and the swallows that fly free over them.
Honestly I can't recommend this album enough. If you can get past the fact that this is the ultimate stereotyped of the folk singer, blasting thees and thous in an operatic soprano, then this is great. t's doubly impressive as Baez accompanies herself throughout on impressive guitar.
No comments:
Post a Comment