Diamonds [Best of]

This exhaustive anthology documents Joan Baez's time at A&M in the 1970's, when she successfully made the transition from her folk roots to become an accomplished singer/songwriter and interpreter of contemporary material. It is valuable also in that some of the original albums, like Come From The Shadows, are not currently available. Songs like Prison Trilogy and In The Quiet Morning (a tribute to Janis Joplin) are some of the beautiful songs contained herein that come from the aforementioned album. It also draws heavily on her masterpiece Diamonds and Rust, with the classic title track, the poignant Fountain Of Sorrow, Jesse and Simple Twist Of Fate. From the partly live album From Every Stage come her version of Cohen's Suzanne, Stewball (a song about a race horse) the protest songs Joe Hill and The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti, as well as other classics like Boulder To Birmingham and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. The album Gulf Winds is not represented at all, which is a pity, since it contained two classic songs in the form of the title track and Sweeter For Me. If you're looking for a good post-folk Baez compilsation, this album is all you need. If you're a completist, you'll have to augment this album with others to have a complete library of all her masterpieces. Judging this album on its own merit, however, I have to give it five stars as an intelligent and beautiful selection of songs.

Joan's place in musical history was built on the recordings she made for Vanguard - the first ten years of her recording career. After leaving Vanguard, Joan moved to A and M and it is from that period that this album was compiled. I generally prefer Joan's Vanguard music but she continued to maintain a high standard at A and M, during which time she added a contemporary edge to her music. The tracks here are mainly (perhaps entirely) taken from the studio albums Come from the shadows (1972) and Diamonds and rust (1975), together with the live double album, From every stage (1976). The first CD contains studio recordings while the second contains live cuts.

Among the studio cuts, Song of Bangladesh is typical of the political material Joan liked to record. It is no surprise that Joan chose to record the classic Imagine. Joan has recorded many Dylan songs - on this collection you can hear a studio version of A simple twist of fate and live versions of Love is just a four letter word, I shall be released and Blowing in the wind. Joan also does a great live version of Boulder to Birmingham, a song first recorded by Emmylou Harris.

Some of the live cuts are re-recordings of songs that she originally recorded for Vanguard - these include Love is just a four letter word, The night they drove old Dixie down and Stewball. Joan's version of Stewball (both this recording and the earlier one) has the same melody as the more famous version by Peter Paul and Mary but she's changed the story a bit. Actually, the original version of the song was inspired by a race held in Ireland in 1752 between a horse called Skewball (not Stewball) and a grey mare, but like all folk songs, it has been altered over the years anyway.

There are many other excellent songs here, too numerous to mention. This is a comprehensive collection of Joan's A and M music, but if you haven't got any of her music at all, I'd recommend you buy some of her Vanguard music first.

This collection is culled from three albums during her A&M career from 72-75, two studio, and one live album, and really does capture Joan at a richly creative period in her glittering career. The highlights here are many and various, and I shan't repeat my fellow reviewers listings, only confirm that this is a luscious collection of some classic songs, with the 'Diamonds & Rust' album strongly represented. The sound quality has a real warmth to underpin her glorious register, while the backing is clear throughout, even in the live set. My only niggle is that her epic 'Winds of the Old Days' from the Diamonds & Rust album has been forgotten: this self-penned piece has some of her strongest lyrics and lovely melody, so it's astonishing that it's displaced by some other covers, which are less essential. Nevertheless, this is a real bargain at the price, and feels like stepping into a warm, honey-scented bath. Sink into it, and enjoy.