Farewell Angelina – JOAN BAEZ*****

Farewell Angelina/Daddy You Been On My Mind/Its All Over Now Baby Blue/The Wild Mountain Thyme/Ranger’s Command/Colours/A Satisfied Mind/The River In The Pines/Pauvre Ruteboeuf/Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind/A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

At the height of the sixties folk protest movement Joan Baez followed her friend Bob Dylan by introducing an electric backing to her songs on Farewell Angelina. (US:10 UK:5)

"The album represented a further shift from the strictly traditional folk music with which Baez had begun her career in that, for the first time, she included electric backup in the form of Bruce Langhome's electric guitar."

"Farewell Angelina is a typical early Joan Baez album, though it does contain some material by contemporary writers. The track listing includes a Donovan song, and four numbers penned by Baez's ex-boyfriend, Bob Dylan. Although Baez's blues-based material, Daddy You Been On My Mind falls a little short, her achingly pure soprano works wonderfully on more traditional songs like Wild Mountain Thyme or Satisfied Mind. The highpoint is a very nice version of Where Have All The Flowers Gone, rendered in German."

"I have always loved this album. It was in my collection when I was young at a time when we struggled with Bob Dylan's change in musical direction. Joan does what only Joan can do, she sings old ballads alongside her loving renditions of Dylan songs. And it works so well that the album is a must have if you want to understand the crossroads at which we all stood when the story of a generation was being told. Joan's voice, clear, and 'like chimes' rings out the story of our time."

"This is legendary Baez. Smooth soulful melodies, intricate guitar playing and that incredible voice."

"The Dylan songs are set to great effect by the interpretation given them by Ms. Baez. Clearly, she has a healthy respect for Dylan's songwriting abilities, treating each one of his songs as if it were a jewel and her voice the precious setting into which it is being placed. She does likewise with Donovan's cover song."

"The traditional folk ballads are, as always, exquisitely and simply sung by Ms. Baez in her sweet, true, clear soprano."