Bloggerhythms

Joan Baez's cover of Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist Of Fate" was never a single, but it became one of the better known tracks from her classic Diamonds & Rust LP. The whole album was more commercial than Baez's earlier work, and as a result it became one of her best selling and best loved releases. It achieved gold status and rose to #11 on Billboard's chart of the 200 best selling albums. It was obvious Baez was trying to expand her fan base, and more than a few of her earlier devotees were annoyed she was selling her soul to "the man." In Baez's hands, Dylan's classic tune from  Blood On the Tracks  is not treated as a folk ballad. Instead, the track possessed many similarities to the 70s, singer-songwriter sub-genre that was highly popular at the time. Because this up-tempo version of "Simple Twist Of Fate" was more accessible than Baez's previous work it received a considerable amo...

I wasn't going to discuss Diamonds & Rust -  Joan Baez's most important and popular album after featuring its title track as an Almost Hits  entry a little over a year ago - but I've changed my mind because of the huge influence this record had on my musical life. Diamonds & Rust  came out in 1975 as my college days were winding down and I was immediately attracted to it in large part because of Baez's sublime vocals. I've always been a sucker for great singing and conversely, vocals are one of the reasons I had a whole lot of trouble listening to many of the highly regarded singer-songwriters of the day. Based only on their voices I mostly found Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and a few others quite taxing on my ears. I didn't care if these artists had anything important to say because I couldn't get past their voices. I asked myself, why, oh why, are so many of the most highly regard...

Joan Baez was never known for having hit singles yet she was a truly popular artist with a golden voice and she proved it with Diamonds & Rust , the title track from her most popular album. Baez was always a composer of note although she recorded far more cover versions of other people's work than many of her songwriting contemporaries. If the singer-activist believed in a song she wouldn't hesitate to record it regardless of its roots. She even covered rock songs. Her treatment of Dire Straits' "Brothers In Arms" is a totally satisfying surprise. Folk musicians (i.e. Baez, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie) mostly sang about traditional cultures, politics, or social ills and primarily employed acoustic instruments whereas the singer-songwriters who rose to prominence in the 1970s (i.e. Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carole King) often sang about more personal issues, looking inward for their material that was sometimes influenced by rock music. The two genres fre...