Vanguard Sessions: Baez Sings Dylan
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 Dylancollects 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