Very Best of, the [Best of]

That said, I'll admit I would probably listen to Judy Collins sing "Close to You" or "The Best of the Brady Bunch." She has of one those rarely beautiful voices that is a national treasure. I hope she will take her vitamins, button up her coat in the winter, and avoid driving in the rain, to make sure she is around for a long time to come.

One thing I will say for CD players is that I can loop this album to play over and over, and the grooves don't wear deep so that I have to replace it from time to time, which would be the case if I had this on vinyl.

I'd recommend this to any Judy Collins fan, but especially to people who don't know her music well, and need to be acquainted with her. Which is everyone.

Sweet Judy had a string of hits from 1968 through 1979, but none charted better than her remake of Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now', which rose to number eight nationally. She tapped Mitchell's songwriting talents a second time in the following year, bringing 'Chelsea Morning' to number 78. The hits continued with 1970's 'Amazing Grace' (#15), 1971's 'Open the Door' (#90), 1973's 'Cook With Honey (#32), 'Send In the Clowns' which charted in both 1975 (#36) and 1977 (#19), and finally in 1979 'Hard Time For Lovers' reached number 66. All seven songs, and 9 others comprise this somewhat limited compilation.

While Collins is best known for her signature vocal gifts, and is often pegged as a cover artist, this collection does demonstrate her capacity as a composer as well. Several fine songs from the disc, 'Since You've Asked', 'Albatross', 'My Father' and 'Open the Door' are all Collins compositions. But certainly her greatest success has involved covering the work of reknown composers such as Bob Dylan ('Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues'), Leonard Cohen ('Suzanne'), Ian Tyson ('Someday Soon'), Stephen Sondheim ('Send In the Clowns'), and Pete Seeger ('Turn! Turn! Turn!', which features Byrd Roger McGuinn lending his trademark 12-string guitar to Collins' rendition).

Collin's special talents have brought other reknown artists into the studio as well. Most notable is Stephen Stills, who was so deeply involved in a personal relationship with Collins that he penned perhaps his greatest work 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' for her, contributed lead and bass guitar work for her 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes' album. Three tracks from that disc, which also features Derek and the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon, are offered on this disc.

While Collins work is exemplary, and certainly difficult to be critical of, I find myself still preferring the original artists renditions of the tracks she is covering here, and of her own original recordings I find a lack of boldness in the mix. While there is a place for light and soft, it needs to be reinforced with some dark and tough. When 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes' is as rugged as you get, you better be in the mood for some smooth sailing.