Search - Judy Collins :: 5th Album

My morning-coffe music...

Sasha | at sea...sailing somewhere | 12/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Decades after release,this album still has its warm glow,beauty that defies the time.I am listening it now in a year 2000,it doesnt mean any nostalgia to me as I was born much later - so these songs dont remind me of my first "joints",peace & love or folk days and protest marches - its simply pure beautiful music that works best in the morning when you are slowly awakening with a coffe and spirit & body are still sensitive.As its often the case,artists work is much better in the beggining when their art is still fresh and pure - later Judy went "art" but here ont his 1965. album she was still singing simply beautiful songs with a very sparse music backing,that made her voice shines.Now in the age of agressive sex promotion in music,when singers are almost not interesting without soft-porn videos,Judy Collins 1965.album sounds like something from another planet,but I am the proof that this music still lives - it touches and soothenes me,perfect music for wakening up.(By the way,I dont know why is listed as a "live" album,when its obviously studio recording)"

A should-be classic

David A. Bede | Singapore | 11/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of those folk albums that are best heard as nature intended, on the original vinyl, pops and all. But I'm delighted to see it available on CD all the same so that new fans will discover it. Judy Collins began her career recording almost exclusively traditional folk songs, then turned to contemporary writers and eventually became something of a pop chanteuse. This album comes as close as any to finding her at a balance between those two worlds. From the opening strains of Richard Farina's beautiful "Pack Up Your Sorrows" (featuring Farina himself on dulcimer) to the thunderous live delivery of the civil-rights anthem "It Isn't Nice," the production is rootsy and unpretentious, but the songs were contemporary in 1964 and still sound fresh and relevant today. (One traditional ballad, "Lord Gregory," is included in the mix, but it doesn't sound the least bit out of place.)It's too bad Collins hadn't begun writing her own songs yet at this stage in her career, since she later proved to be a formidable writer. But she obviously did have a good ear for up and coming talent, as this collection features sides from such then-new writers as Gordon Lightfoot ("Early Morning Rain," still among the best paeans to homesickness ever penned), Phil Ochs ("In the Heat of the Summer," a biting response to the Harlem riots of 1964 and the failure of the powers that were to lay the blame where it really belonged), Eric Andersen ("Thirsty Boots," a beautiful tribute to that era's freedom marchers from the perspective of a friend who hadn't joined them), and, of course, Bob Dylan. Her treatment of "Mr. Tambourine Man" is as good as any, but for me the two more obscure Dylan songs, "Daddy You've Been On My Mind" and "Tomorrow is a Long Time," are the real showcases. Amid some of the most political material Collins ever performed, these two lovesongs provide a much-needed break. Then there's "The Coming of the Roads," which mourns equally the loss of a lover and of an unspoiled forest. Heavy stuff, but it's among the earliest environmentally-conscious songs and still one of the best. Likewise, this album as a whole is one of Collins' best efforts ever."

One of her best

William B. Humphrey | Denver, CO | 01/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My all time favorite of Judy's mid-60's albums. A good mix of some of her best work. Her wonderfully strong alto comes through clear as a bell."