Love Minus Zero-No Limit/North Country Blues/You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere/Drifter’s Escape/I Pity The Poor Immigrant/Tears Of Rage/Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands/Love Is Just A Four Letter Word/I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine/The Walls Of Redwing/Dear Landlord/One Too Many Mornings/I Shall Be Released/Boots Of Spanish Leather/Walkin’ Down The Line/Restless Farewell
Any Day Now was a double album from the American folk icon Joan Baez performing songs written by her contemporary Bob Dylan to a variety of backings. (US:30)
“Any Day Now is not without fault, still I find Baez's Dylan set to be inspired, featuring lots of country elements (dobro, banjo, pedal steel) popular at the time that complement Joan's performances. The result is that Baez is integrated into the music, instead of having her superior voice superimposed meaninglessly over stringbased arrangements as on previous albums. What I appreciate most about this particular album is her song selection, which neglects the most famous tunes in favour of Dylan's more political or esoteric work.”
“The five octave range Joan Baez brings to her interpretation of Dylan's songs typifies the emotional depth with which she tells his stories. From the a cappella Tears Of Rage to the guitar twang of The Walls Of Redwing, Baez compels listeners with the precision and empathy of her phrasing. She makes them her own as she demonstrates why she is the quintessential conduit for Dylan's lyrical commentary.”
“When this was released, there was a lot of hype about how great it would be - Baez singing Dylan - but it turned out to be somewhat less than mediocre. There are probably a couple of okay songs; I don't think I've heard it through yet - really monotonous stuff.”
“A pretty decent attempt to point the listener towards some more or less under appreciated Dylan tunes. Of course that very pure voice is not always perfectly suited to the material, but there you go.”
“This is a cover album - all Bob Dylan songs - and it's a wonderful one. Baez gives us her own take on Dylan's poetry and music, and with her incredible voice it's magical. The album has a definite country flair, which turned me off at first, but then it really grew on me. Everything about this album is just so right: her phrasing, the choice of songs and her elegant delivery.”
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