Search - Joan Baez :: Bowery Songs

She's Still Got It!

Mark D. Prouse | Riverdale (Bronx), NY | 09/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There was disagreement among Amazon reviewers over the last studio album, Dark Chords On A Big Guitar (I loved it, some loathed it, without too many listeners feeling something in between). Bowery Songs should bring older and newer Joan Baez fans closer together, although I, personally, did not need yet another recording of "Joe Hill" or "Deportee," whose tunes I find tired and uninteresting (I'm one of those older Baez fans who happens to appreciate Joan's experimentations with more modern sounds). That having been said, I saw one of the shows from the tour that resulted in the recording of this CD, and it was one of JB's finest hours, combining the old and the new with grace, style, and wit; Joan's latest band is arguably the best group she has ever performed in concert with. Yes, there are some songs from Dark Chords..., but Greg Brown's "Rexroth's Daughter" may be even better than the studio version, and ditto Natalie Merchant's "Motherland" (with some fine electric guitar work). The sound is crystal clear and the band seems enthusiastically engaged, as Joan rises to the occasion. Steve Earle's "Christmas In Washington" is reprised as well.



The rest of the album includes songs spanning Joan's entire career. A reworking of the old folk chestnut "Jackaroe" is fun (nice bass work by Graham Maby, as on much of this album). "Carrickfergus," first heard on Joan's 1989 Speaking of Dreams album, is gorgeous, although more subdued here. I would have expected yet another recording of "Silver Dagger" to bore me, but wait -- there's a twist: the added banjo and the slowed tempo give the thing a new dimension (I wonder if Joan took a cue from Dolly Parton's spectacular, although much faster, bluegrass version on her The Grass Is Blue CD). Dylan fans may be annoyed by Joan's prettified rendition of "It's All Over Now Baby Blue," but I've always liked much of the Dylan catalog as performed by Joan, because whatever she lacks in grit she makes up for in the revelation of Dylan's beautiful tunes (revisit the JB album Any Day Now, if you haven't, recently) -- I admire Dylan's lyrics, but his own singing often obscures the fact that he has written some great melodies. This is emphasized, as well, in a refreshed arrangement of "Farewell Angelina," one of Joan's most oft-recorded numbers.



Finally, the two stand out tracks on Bowery Songs are among four never before recorded by Joan: Dylan's "Seven Curses," an adaptation of a much older folk song, and the traditional "Dink's Song." The former is performed with only Joan's own, superb guitar picking, and she sounds great singing this memorable melody. The latter also has a simple acoustic guitar arrangement but also features a chilling electric slide guitar noodling around behind, which gives the piece added atmosphere. Joan's voice may have aged, but here it is like a fine, vintage wine, full of flavor, and an echo of sunnier days. These two songs are, alone, worth the price of the CD, especially if you are already a Joan Baez fan.

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Great Music, Awful Packaging

H. F. Corbin | ATLANTA, GA USA | 09/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In what has to be Ms. Baez' best CD musically in years, she proves as always that she has what it takes. Although she's been singing beautifully for over 40 years, Ms. Baez' voice is still magnificent, particularly in her upper register when she does that overworldly vibrato. On this live album recorded in November of last year at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, she includes a lot of traditional music which she has arranged as well as songs from composers as diverse as Jean Sibelius ("Finlandia"), Woody Guthrie, Steve Earle and Bob Dylan. Of course this CD provides for the listener the electricity that goes from performer to the live audience. The spontaneous enthusiasm by both Ms. Baez and her audience is catching. Two of my favorite selections are both the songs by Steve Earle: Christmas in Washington" and "Jerusalem," where the composer "believes" that one day "all the children of Abraham will lay down their swords forever." One can only hope. Ms. Baez also does a beautiful job on the traditional "Silver Dagger" with a perfect banjo accompaniment. But if I had to select the high point of this recording, it would have to be the tribute to the union organizer martyr, "Joe Hill," a song that has long been a staple of protest singers and was sung at the funeral of Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a great supporter of unions before he was given the unpleasant task of selling the Vietnam War to the American public by President Johnson. Hearing Ms. Baez sing this song live-- which, by the way she dedicates to Michael Moore-- alone is is worth the price of the CD.



So how could a CD of such magnificent music sung by such a fine singer as Joan Baez be packaged so poorly? I suspect it has to do with money. Where to begin? First, the sticker on the cellophane wrap informs the buyer that Ms. Baez records 4 of these songs for the first time. I wonder what they are. Secondly, there are no words to any of the songs included. Thirdly, there is no indication of who is accompanying Ms. Baez on what song (although the accompaniment is quite well done.) Additionally, although there are photos of several performers here, we have no idea who they are since they are not identified. There are no biographical notes to speak of. Finally, In order to read what little information we are provided about this CD, we have to strain at tiny red letters on a black background. I for one am unwilling to go blind in an attempt to read them.



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All This Amazing Grace

BaezFan | Los Angeles | 09/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this live recording (New York City at the Bowery Ballroom 11/06/04) Joan Baez sings Greg Brown's composition "Rexroth's Daughter", a song full of a lifetime's worth of insightful lyrics. One phrase that stood out specifically to me as I listened to it on this particular recording was:



"If you try to swallow what they shove at us

you run out of tears to cry

I heard a man speak quietly

I listened for awhile

He spoke from his heart to my woe

then he bowed and smiled

What is real but compassion

as we move from birth to death?"



Compassion is woven throughout Joan's performance here, as she sings quietly, sweetly, sadly, and strongly, of age-old woes, dreams, hopes, and the desire for peace, both personal and political.



This is a record that exemplifies (while updating) the best of the folk music tradition:



Joan has chosen to record top-notch material from her vast repertoire; from old traditional ballads (such as "Silver Dagger" and "Dink's Song") to contemporary commentary (Natalie Merchant's "Motherland" and Steve Earle's "Christmas in Washington"), along with songs destined to become classics to future generations (Woody Guthrie's "Deportee" and Bob Dylan's "Seven Curses").



The musicians provide great accompaniment, having already toured extensively with Joan. There is a wide variety of arrangements in the music, from an a capella opening of "Finlandia" (with its incredibly timely lyrics) to the closing number; a rocking version of Steve Earle's moving (touching both the heart and mind) plea for peace "Jerusalem". In between we are treated to banjo, lap steel, percussion, drums, electric guitar, and a surprising amount of electric bass in various combinations. And yes, there is Joan finger picking her acoustic guitar on quite a few of the numbers. [Note: One drawback that I found with the (very minimal) liner notes is that while the band members are listed, the individuals who played on each particular song are not specified. This includes no mention of which songs Joan played on, although it is obvious that she did so on most of them.]



But what is most central to the success of this record is Joan's voice. It is up front & center in the mix, where it rightfully belongs. Joan has now lived 64 of those years "from birth to death", and her vast amount of experiences (personal and musical) is reflected in her knowing interpretations of these achingly beautiful songs.



It is amazing to listen to Bob Dylan's "Farewell Angelina" on this record, while closing my eyes, and to hear Joan's voice of today just a shade or two off from her studio recording of 1965, from 40 years ago! What is even more amazing about this record is that many of these live recordings are even better renditions than the previous studio recordings, the traditional Irish ballad "Carrickfergus" being an example of this.



As Greg Brown also writes in "Rexroth's Daughter"; "...pray that we will find a way to get with all this amazing grace." Listen to Joan Baez's "Bowery Songs" awhile, and you'll find that a lot of that amazing grace is in this performance.

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