Search - Judy Collins :: Times of Our Lives

BETTER THAN I HAD EXPECTED! .....

10/26/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was somewhat surprised when I bought TIMES OF OUR LIVES and gave it a listen. A majority of of the Collins fans I know had warned me to avoid her later catalogue of albums, especially HARD TIMES FOR LOVERS (although personally that album has quite a few songs I like, especially the title track and "Happy End"). With TIMES OF OUR LIVES, I was ENORMOUSLY impressed with "Great Expectations," "Rest Of Your Life," and "It's Gonna Be One Of Those Nights." She seems to be leaning more toward a trendy, early-80's "pop" sound with these songs, yet she manages to pull them off really well. Judy's rendition of "Memory" is nearly equal to that of her interpretation of "Send In The Clowns," which is still the definitive version (I do like Sinatra, but him singing "Clowns" still doesn't sit well with me!). I sort of think that this album holds up well because Judy, like on TRUE STORIES AND OTHER DREAMS (her masterpiece!), writes a lot of the material on it; she is an interpretive singer, but also an under-recognized songwriter. I'll agree that not everything on this album works for her: I find the lyrics to "Grandaddy" sort of silly, even though the music she actually wrote for it is credible; I could really do without "Mama Mama," however, which comes off as a cluttered, confused composition. Other than that, TIMES OF OUR LIVES is a solid listening experience, although I haven't really heard a album by Judy that was a bad listening experience!"

A good set of songs

Geoff Hall | Borehamwood, UK | 02/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The reviewer from DC was spot on. This is much better than expected, with a nice set of contempory tracks. The vocals sound multi-tracked in places which make for a wholesome sound, the backing singers enhancing the whole sound.Although "Memory" sounds really good, suited nicely to her voice, the best tracks include "Great Expectations", "The Rest Of Your Life" and "It's Gonna Be One Of Those Nights". This move to a group backing, instead of just a guitar, shows Judy moving with the times and singing songs which fit her voice. "Hard Times For Lovers" is a pretty poor album and was the album I bought before this. I'm pleased to say that this restored my faith in Judy."