Mark R. Thivierge | Brighton, MA United States | 02/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"By the time JB/5 came out, Joan had become adept at mixing traditional folk ballads with (then) current topical material, and this album included equal helpings of both. The tragedy of the ancient "Death of Queen Jane" and Richard Farina's "Birmingham Sunday" (about southern church bombing that killed four little girls) show that no one historical era has cornered the market on human suffering, and she updates the classic "Stewball," while at the same time, giving much needed exposure to the late Phil Ochs (who was then blacklisted), by including his "There but for Fortune". A joy from start to finish."
All-Time Favorite JB Work
Donal M. Welch | Tehachapi, CA United States | 12/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a little young to have followed the career of Joan Baez from its inception (I was born in '62), but I grew to love her music and her message when I attended graduate school in Santa Barbara in the mid-1980s. But I hadn't heard the "5" album until about 3 years ago. At that time, I was watching the Spike Lee film "4 Little Girls," the true story of the bombing of a church in Birmingham, AL, in the early 60s. The story was incredibly well-told. But what made it really special for me was the song "Birmingham Sunday," sung by Joan Baez. Her lovely lyrical voice coupled with the story really had a profound effect on me. I searched and searched until I finally came across this CD. In addition to "Birmingham Sunday," I found that I enjoyed all of the other works as well. I hope you find as much pleasure in Joan Baez "5" as I do."
The way the wind blew
Donal M. Welch | 06/18/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I own this treasure on vinyl (bought in -65), cassette and cd (from last year). She truly is the Joyce Carol Oates of the folk singers, being able to project her message in a very emphatic but still complex way. Her version of Phil Och's "There but for fortune" is inspirational and takes you down a road less traveled today. And "I still miss someone" is sad and solemn, and touches you deep inside. All in all: a stunning performance from the days when music meant something. Don't hesitate, if you're into good folk...no, good music, just buy this one and then spend the rest of the summer listening to it."
Still blows my mind!
Donal M. Welch | 12/02/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The way Joan does "It Ain't Me Babe" esp the line "Go melt back into the night, babe" STILL (like 30 yrs. later!) blows me away (and takes me back to my "love life" in the 60's.) The rest of the album (ahem, CD)is beautiful, rousing, soothing, calming and also provocative. And the cover picture of 17 Mile Drive in Monterey is unforgetable. Long live Joanie!"
Get remastered version instead of this CD - 2 extra tracks
E. A. Lovitt | Gladwin, MI USA | 09/07/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This CD must generate mixed emotions in Joan Baez fans. After this album, the singer "went on to mine the richness of contemporary songwriters" according to the liner notes.
If you prefer the acoustical guitar and the traditional ballads as I do, this is Joan's last album that features this kind of music, and she was already crossing over with songs like "Birmingham Sunday (track 9)." Mixed in with contemporary (well, 'sixties) songs, this CD also has two Child Ballads, an eighteenth-century broadside about a race horse, ballads sung by dead men, and a lovely poem by Lord Byron that is set to music.
In other words, traditionalists, here are a few of our favorite songs--the last known to be recorded by Joan Baez:
"Stewball"--According to the Thoroughbred Heritage web site, Skewball (not Stewball) really was a racehorse (possibly a skewbald) by the Godolphin Arabian, out of a Whitefoot mare called Bandy . Samuel Sidney ["The Book of the Horse", 1875] stated that Skewball "...won a great number of plates and prizes in England, and one famous match in Ireland." This match became the subject of a ballad, "Skewball" or "Stewball," which has endured, in varying forms, to the present day. Joan Baez isn't the only folkie to sing about Stewball. Peter, Paul, and Mary, Leadbelly, and the Kingston Trio also recorded versions of this ballad. The 'little gray mare' who raced against Skewball is named 'Molly,' 'Miss Sportsly,' or 'Griselda' in the various eighteenth century broadsides from which this ballad originated. Joan sings this song high and tremulous like a child who loves the silver-bridled Stewball and rejoices when "the gray mare she stumbles and falls to the ground."
"The Death of Queen Jane (Child #170)--a version of this ballad appears as early as 1612 and tells of the death of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII of England. Joan's clear soprano and droning accompaniment are especially effective for this ballad.
"The Unquiet Grave (Child #78)--When Joan sings this ballad she leaves out the strongest verse: "You crave one kiss of my clay-cold lips;/ But my breath smells earthy strong;/ If you have one kiss of my clay-cold lips,/ Your time will not be long." This song recounts the almost universal belief that excessive grieving for the dead interferes with their repose. The hair on the back of your neck will rise up when the dead man speaks to his grieving lover in Joan's plaintive, eerie lament.
"So We'll Go No More A-Roving"--It was during the famous Carnivale of Venice, when lovers roamed the streets in masks and elaborate costumes, that Byron wrote the poem which furnishes the lyrics to this song. Joan's yearning soprano perfectly conveys the spirit of the poem: Byron, grown fat and pensive, dressed in a lavish dressing gown and gazing out of his window in the Palazzo Mocenigo, thinking of what might have been.
This poem was turned into a sea shanty shortly after Byron penned it, so it has a venerable history of being put to song. A more modern version of the song (I am not making this up) is "So We'll Go No More A-Cruisin."
NOTE: If you buy the remastered version of this CD, you'll get two bonus tracks.
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
