Joan Baez

The problem, so to say, with singer-songwriter folk, such as this, tends to be that since it's build on so few elements, disliking even one basically ruins the whole experience. An album build solely on guitar and voice essentially means that you if you don't like the vocals, there's not much there to enjoy anymore. On the other hand, if both of those work, the experience can be even more intense when it all just "clicks" with you. Well, anyway, none of this is really related to my opinion, because I thought this was... just okay. I didn't hate her voice thoroughly, but wasn't exactly fond of it either. And the songs themselves were... there? Yeah, folk is a very difficult genre for me. The stuff I like, I really do like a lot but if it doesn't hit me, it does very little for me.

Not for me. Iconic no doubt.

Not a huge Joan Baez fan, her voice register kind of grates for me.

Giving two stars because I don't know that I would have the patience to listen to a whole song on the radio. I think of her and Joni Mitchell in the same way with high pitched voices that don't appeal to me. Two stars

Wasn't in the mood for this. Should perhaps revisit when I am.

I mean if you like 60s folk singer/songwriters this is gonna be for you. I find her voice kind of grating. It's not a bad voice just not one I could listen to for very long. It reminds me of the way Snow White sings in the old Disney movie. Her voice is so clear and high it's painful sometimes. The music is simple and dated and soft. The whole time I was listening to this I just kept thinking that the 60s must have been an easier time to get a record contract. I've heard any number of people that sound exactly like this over the years and not one of them was famous at all. I suppose you can say that Joan Baez was a pioneer of the sound or whatever, and that might be true. But I still feel like someone with this kind of sound would never even get a meeting with a record company today. I mean she didn't even write any of these songs. A couple traditional songs here and there is one thing but this is basically an album of covers. Overall, not a fan. 2/5

This is relatively simple stuff. A beautiful voice, delicate guitar playing and great traditional songs. There’s something to be said for stripped back arrangements and a pure voice.

A bit vanilla, but I did enjoy it. 3.5/5

3.3

#272 I understand the importance of Joan Baez from social/political/musical landscape. I even love her voice as it is piercingly soothing. That said, an album like this is hard to digest if you aren't in the mood for a bunch songs with just a girl and her guitar. Some of the song just fall flat for me, since I do not like much folk. This was a hard listen for me overall, though there were some surprises. Like in All My Trials, I could not help but want to sing it like Elvis as he does in American Trilogy. I think overall I like the first half of the album. Once you start getting into all the songs with peoples names, it gets very same-y for me. Biggest Hit - Silver Dagger Biggest Miss - Henry Martin Bonus Hit - Wildwood Flower

I think one or two songs on their own are great, but almost a full hour is tough to get through

Nice

It took some research, but I understand why this album is on this list. For those who don't want to do the research - this album was inducted into the Library of Congress because it captured the sound of the era it came out in. 1960, the beginning of the counterculture "Hippy" movement where raw individualism and spiritual expressionism became an American widespread phenomena. This album can be used as a prime example of what most music of that time sounded like. A girl, her voice, and her guitar. She is celebrating folk culture, local tales, and American storytelling. As of my review of this album, it's not for me at all. The fluttery vocals have always annoyed me more than anything else. It's a great album to listen to and imitate if you're pursuing a career in music. You could make hundreds of dollars at your local farmer's market if you showed up and played through and sung this album twice on a Saturday morning. Total score: 6/10.

Un album folk, Joan Baez chante bien mais aujourd'hui, ça ne suffit plus.

lovely stuff very whimsical. demands a specific mood i think but i could see myself getting into that mood again. will say it’s a lot of the same song

Joan Baez has a beautifully vibrant, crystal-clear voice (although it can get a little grating after 40 minutes straight), which is fortunate because there’s not much else here to keep things interesting. Her debut album consists of thirteen traditional folk songs featuring nothing but Baez and an acoustic guitar. It’s perfectly fine, assuming you enjoy sitting quietly while someone sings folk songs at you for forty minutes. Definitely an acquired taste. And if Jenny’s aspiration was to become a folk singer like Joan Baez, well, even Forrest Gump knew she hadn’t set the bar particularly high.

I understand the social impact of her music during a tumultuous time in US history, but I just don't enjoy this at all. Stripped down acoustic music can be quite enjoyable, but I became impatient at the halfway point and wanted to get through this as quickly as possible. I pay less attention to lyrics than most people, so the meaning is lost on me unless I go back and read them (which I will not do). Having a nice chill vibe repeatedly interrupted by vocals that go to 11 out of the blue didn't work in its favor either. I can check Joan Baez off my list. I respect the artist, but won't be back to listen again.

Yet another entry on this list that can be filed under: Unnecessary. It's a shame when someone with a singing voice that could be very special, for some reason performs some of the most boring songs I've ever heard. More mid-century American Folk on this list than I would have expected.

The cover is ok. The vocals are so so bad, it hurt my ears. Opera is by far my least favorite genre, and this is no exception. They turned "House of the Rising Sun" into something completely unlistenable. Why did this ever get through. This album is SO SO SO bad, I BARELY got through this. The first song instantly made me groan and it did not get better. None of these songs are good, the only song that I consider the best is because its the shortest. 55 minutes of the worst vocalist I have ever heard. Best Song: Girl of Constant Sorrow. Worst Song: House of the Rising Sun.

Joan Baez has a distinct sound that is unmistakably hers. It’s an acquired taste, similar to brussel sprouts, or mushy peas.

It’s just a quiet acoustic guitar and her horrific opera voice for 55 minutes. Joan Baez’s voice cracks and vibrato are harmful and this album threatens 16 songs. The folk guitar would be nice if it weren’t for the singing of agony and torment. I guess music can be used for torture.

Definitely an important recording for historical purposes and record-keeping of traditional music, but also not really my thing. 3.5/5

The songs are solid for a debut album, but I think her voice is what really shines. I find her vocals quite lovely and impressive, especially on El Preso Numero Nueve and Girl Of Constant Sorrow. Her voice does remind me of Joni Mitchell, which is interesting because she and Joni supposedly didn't get along and had a bit of a rivalry back in the day. I'm curious to listen to some of her later albums to see what her sound evolved into because I know she is such an icon in the world of folk music.

It’s just a bunch of singing.

She just feels like poor man's Joni Mitchell with all that vibrato

Joan, girl, chill with the vibrato. You do not need to shake your voice every 2nd note, got annoying I cant lie. I feel like vibrato is used to accentuate certain notes here and there. Not something to be used across the board, gets old real fast.

Beautiful songs, selected well and crafted with care. Added to liked list: House of the Rising Sun, All My Trials, and Wildwood Flower

Great songwriter especially for a debut album. Her voice can be a bit hit or miss

Cool

Would listen again

you all right joan, with your deadass vibrato.

Solid 3, really pretty, would never put this one for myself but it was a nice listen.

I will say thanks to this album generator I have discovered a real love I have for folk music a genre I had never really explored until provoked by said generator. Joan in particular is an artist I never would have discovered. Her voice is definitely one of an acquired taste, very soft and enjoyable but can be overly unexpectedly shrill at times. For the most part this album is enjoyable I can see why for some it’s so beloved, I personally liked it, but just at times when she would suddenly increase pitch, against the very simple backing track it was just too much. For example I loved the guitar on house of the rising sun but I prefer Joni Mitchell’s much softer and more controlled vocals. This album wasn’t bad, I feel like I’m making it sound like I didn’t enjoy, because that’s not true, I did actually like some of the songs on here, but I probably wouldn’t listen to it again as a full album. It is also definitely an album where you have to be in the mood for it. I give it a 3/5.

Oof. What a sound. Love her voice but it seems the same over every track. It was hard to tell when the track changed sometimes. Her guitar playing is stellar, if it is her. Folk isn't my favorite genre but she does well by it. Loved her cover of House of the Rising Sun. Also loved El Preso Numero Nueve. That is the track that won this album a 3rd star.

Still sublime, still important

Beautiful songs.

She has a great voice, but it feels like she is showing off more than needed. I prefer singing to/from the heart of the song, rather than boasting to your ego. ★★★

3.38

I like her voice on individual songs but for an album it gets to be too much - too much vibratto and too much of that crystalline voice

Amazing voice, but this all just sounds the same.

This is folk music distilled down to its base form, just a single guitar and vocals, both by the same person. No offense to the fans of old folk music, but this was not an enjoyable listen for me. Baez’s voice is nice enough, but this was 45 minutes of the same song over again, just with different lyrics. Exactly zero songs are original compositions, which is always a demerit, just a bunch of very old traditional folk tunes. It’s a 2/5 for me.

nah

On my morning off from work, this album is just not doing anything to help me enjoy it. I had to keep checking if the next song had started.

Ah, beautiful. It's a great classic folk album, some of the finest I've heard to be honest. Joan has a great voice and her arrangements of these traditional songs are lovely to listen to. I don't know what else to say, aside from my favorite track being Mary Hamilton.

I'm a fan of trad music, so I knew a number of the tracks on here and there are many other recorded versions of most of these songs And the problem with Baez's version is that the vocal is, generally, just too damned "perfect". Historically I understand why – just look at some of the other albums from the same time period that are on this list – and this is clearly a really important album from the development of the folk revival. And for a 19 year old recording this in 1960 in pretty primitive conditions, it's still a half decent album But with some guts in the vocals – like there are on El Preso Número Nueve – this could be so much better to modern ears As I say, I get why this was recorded the way it was. And I really like the simple guitar backing – a major label would probably have wanted to put an orchestra on this which would have made it unlistenable. But the vocal is just too choral with such perfect enunciation. And that spoils it enough for me to mean that I don't really want to listen to it again There is probably a way to put together a playlist of all the songs on this album which is made up a "better" recordings of them. I'd start with The Men They Couldn't Hang's version of Silver Dagger. Baez would have one track in that playlist, El Preso Número Nueve. Because that's when she has soul and roots, which is, for me, what folk music, trad music, is all about

5/10

No thanks.

sounds like a mosquito whenever she does vibrato

Debut responsable del revival folk. Joan es una de las mujeres clave en la música, como Dolly Parton en el country o Tina Turner en el soul. Este debut no es su mejor disco, Diamonds & Rust del 75, pero sí tiene todo lo que la hizo esencial. Tan bueno como el segundo o su directo del 62. Una de las primeras artistas americanas en publicar un disco en español (todos los temas en castellano menos uno en catalán) con Gracias a la vida (1975) que contenía clásicos como No nos moverán, La llorona y sobre todo una canción tan buena como Esquinazo del guerrillero De este debut, destacan el rescate de House of the Rising Sun, que poco tiene que ver con las versiones de Nina Simone y sobre todo la de los Animals.

I've never been a fan of her operatic soprano style of singing folk music, nor the sparse arrangements. But, while not a personal favorite of mine, it is undeniable that this album awoke a folk movement in United States. So, I'll give a 3 for its place in Western music history, not for my personal preference.

Meh, I can see how it is a good album, but I dont enjoy her voice....

I get a bit bored by this early 60s folk stuff

BOOOOORIIIIIING😔😔😔

Too sleepy and trilly for me

A strong offering from the queen of the 60s American Folk Revival. My biggest complaint is that her rapid-fire vibrato grates on me. 3 stars

It was okay, I guess. It was decently pleasant for the most part, except when she hit the high notes, that hurt my ears a little bit. Slightly generous 3

Tää levy oli aika jollotusta. Vaikka Joan on arvostettu artisti, en tykkää hänen laulustaan. Vähän liian ”hienoa” musiikkia minulle.

01) Silver Dagger - 6,0 02) East Virginia - 6,5 03) Fare Thee Well (10,000 Miles) - 5,5 04) House of the Rising Sun - 6,5 05) All My Trials - 5,5 06) Wildwood Flower - 5,5 07) Donna Donna - 6,0 08) John Riley - 5,0 09) Rake and Rambling Boy - 5,0 10) Little Moses - 5,0 11) Mary Hamilton - 5,0 12) Henry Martin - 5,5 13) El Preso Número Nueve - 5,5 TOTAL: 5,58 (56/100)

Surprisingly wonderful

its giving wuthering heights

Мені сподобався цей фолк-альбом. Він ніби й достатньо типовий, але щось робить ці пісні такими, що тримають мою увагу. Трошки затягнутий. 3.5.

Типовий фолк-сінгер-сонграйтер альбом з 60х. Не люблю Ділана і так само його подруга теж не дуже мені подобається.

What a beautiful voice. She makes these songs of the folk era shine as pretty as a starry night. Great debut by the best song interpreter ever. She can write them too.

Tja, mid. Kjedelig. 2 av 5

Gorgeous voice, good tunes

absolutely hated this

Lots of traditional songs sung wonderfully by Ms. Baez. Just a woman & a guitar. She's still going strong. She performed at The Power to the People Festival this past weekend. 3

++*: East Virginia ++: Silver Dagger, Fare Thee Well (10,000 Miles), House of the Rising Sun, Wildwood Flower, Donna Donna, Rake and Rambling Boy, Little Moses, Mary Hamilton, Henry Martin, El Preso Número Nueve +: All My Trials, John Riley 9,7/10

I've seen this album while flicking through the book. It's old - real old. I'm pretty sure it's within the first ten albums on the list when going by the book's method of ordering them (which appears to be by year of release, but not month or date as the book entries for these albums are of differing lengths and therefore have differing page layouts). Now that I'm scouring this album cover for clues, I can't help but notice that Baez is holding some kind of wooden, stringed instrument in the album artwork. There's also a full page spread in the book entry for this album which includes a picture of Baez playing an acoustic guitar, so I think I can expect to hear something stripped-back and therefore FOLK. I hate my shitty folking piece of shit life. Play that theeeyangggg. Dead on with my prediction. Yeehaw or, as my phone's autocorrect would prefer to say, "yes has". This album is empty and FUCKING BORING as a direct consequence of the sparse instrumentation. Yeah, Baez is there and she's strumming away on her acoustic guitar without a care in the world. Her voice has a nice cadence and the instrumentals have a... lilting quality that is *yawn* ᵉᵃˢʸ ᵗᵒ ʳᵉˡᵃˣ ᵗᵒ, though... there were.... many songs that.. blᵉʷ ᵇʸ ʷᶦᵗʰᵒᵘᵗ ᵐᵘᶜʰ ⁿᵒᵗᶦᶜᵉ...🥱😴 I'M AWAKE. Trust Joan fucking Baez to inflict an unshakable slumber on me on this accursed train ride home. I very nearly missed my stop, though I'm right on time for some researchin' action. Das rite, it's book time. This is album #24 when going by the book order. Not as old as I was thinking, though it's still got some years on it. Anyways, this is one of the best-selling folk albums from a female artist. Baez would have six records go gold. Baez was later crowned as the Queen of Folk music. Bob Dylan (the King of Folk) was impressed by her abilities, and Baez would later cover some of his material. This album is comprised of traditional folk songs from America and England. The entry closes with "Although her place at the forefront of the protest movement was still around the corner, Baez's strength, compassion, and courage were apparent on this initial release, which did much to revitalize folk music for a new generation." Wikipedia says that this album was inducted into the Library of Congress in 2015. The handful of critic ratings are very positive, and the album peaked at No. 38 in Germany, No. 20 in the US and No. 9 in the UK. I get the impression that Baez is a significant artist when considering her "Queen of Folk" moniker and commercial success, though I'm dubious as to whether this is her defining release. I'm too lazy to go digging through her discography, so I'll just pre-emptively approve of this album. I cosign this inclusion.

Folk songs droning on, Vibrato hurts my ears now, Way too monotone.

I prefer Joni Mitchell to Joan Baez

ok

her voice is stunningly clear. I found her soprano to be a little shrill after several songs but overall quite beautiful and soulful.

Joanie… what can I say? I’m a huge Dylan fan. Which means Joan Baez is in my universe. Her voice is one of the most interesting in all of the generalized “pop music” sphere. For some people, it’s a non-starter. I understand. It’s simple brain chemistry. The brain operates as a prediction machine and its reward pathways process dopamine. Our brains aren’t just passively absorbing music, it is actively trying to predict what notes, rhythms, chords, etc. is coming next based on our own history of collected, internalized music patterns. So, it stands to reason that we can adjust our brains to accept and predict more and varied patterns by listening to music that challenges what we find comforting or label “good” or “bad”. It’s just not that simple. The brain releases the most dopamine when music balances predictability with a slight subversion of what we expect and our brain rewards us for recognizing that subversion. When we hear music that falls outside of the threshold, something unusual, dissonant, quasi-rhythmic or, unpredictable… no dopamine. In extreme cases, music attacks the amygdala and stimulates a threat response. More severe dissonance, extreme staccato, jagged microtones, erratic dynamics, etc. can release cortisol and adrenaline. Some extreme cases of musical anhedonia can result in a neurological refusal to enjoy music at all. I guess my point is, when people stop themselves from enjoying music because it presents a challenge to that “sweet spot” where they are rewarded, it’s only because they haven’t trained their brain’s auditory cortex to predict more varied outcomes. This inverted-U relationship between complexity and pleasure is known as the Wundt-Berlyne curve. You can literally train your brain’s predictive coding network to accept a broader set of rules and expand your dopamine reward system. What does this have to do with a young girl with a guitar and a high tenor? Nothing really, but I bet you feel a little silly for not being able to be rewarded for listening to her sing her very best with the only voice she has to offer. If this is a nonstarter, you have a lot of work to do. 4

Very dated sounding

Not very exciting but still a calm and pleasant listen. Joan’s got such a great voice.

Joan will always be underrated because of the implicit sexism of the time; she shouldn't be

Fantastic. I was thinking of knocking it for not having originals, but she rearranged all of these songs and recorded with 2 microphones in an old church--sounds great. Similar to Joni Mitchell I'm not a huge fan of her higher register, but you can't deny how great she is.

It's folk at its most unadorned, a breath of fresh air in the sea of electronic echoes. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Silver Dagger - House of the Rising Sun - Donna Donna

Great album!

A superlative compilation of one of our most muscular American singers. 'Silver Dagger' and 'I Know You Rider' are my own personal highlights, though the former seems to be beloved by all. Can certainly enjoy her take on 'House of the Rising Sun,' though her paramour would go on to do a better take (naturally, but you wouldn't know that at the time). Still, can't shake off the feeling that listening to Joan Baez is like getting scolded by your mother. B

"East Virginia" really caught my attention. Other than that. Good background noise #3

As far as folk goes kinda enjoyed

It was not so bad

Her singing voice does not resonate with me at all

some of her songs are so beautiful and some sound like she’s an old lady sitting behind you in church

This is lovely music. The simple arrangements of traditional folk music work very well with Joan Baez's voice. The fact that it is all covers is maybe a small mark against this album, but does not hinder my enjoyment much. In fact, it's kind of fun to hear these versions of songs that (in many cases) I have been familiar with for all my life. It's an incredible debut. Favorite track: "Henry Martin." What can I say, I like my sorrowful sea ballads.

Joan Baez debut. With Donna and the House of thee Rising Sun.

Very eclectic vibes on this old timey folk album. Quality vocal performance from Joan. I think it's an album you really need to be in the mood for because of its slow pacing and heavy use if vibrado. Lucky for me, today I was in the mood.

Liked it at first, perfect for the Sunday morning I got it on, but I soon got a bit bored. The songs tended to get a bit samey. Great voice though.

Voice of an angel

just kinda boring

I had no idea how brilliant her guitar playing was, and found myself getting lost in that at points, that Joni Mitchell thing of being so accomplished your other things are overlooked. :) Great stuff, definitely will listen to more, wish I had sooner! The folksy thing wore a bit thin at points, but forgiveable and cool to hear nonetheless. :)

Pretty decent.

It is tempting to call Joni Mitchell the female Dylan, and in some ways that makes sense. Joni is more distinctive and iconic. But Baez is really more intrinsically tied to the man's work. She is in many ways folk music epitomized. Like Bob, her songs often feel like they're traditional, and often they are political. Shared intentions (though Joan isn't so intentionally obtuse all the damned time). The album largely rests on competent fingerprinting and sweet vocals. Folk music as simplicity. It leans hard into traditional, which is a shame because you'd sorta hope that in 1001 albums, they'd pick one that said something over one that interpreted the past, though i suppose that would be hard too… Baez largely eschews writing credits until the 70s. Song choice is to some degree the true purview of the troubadour, and there are definitely a bunch of tracks I found going through the discography that i'm interested in. Baez is unquestionably an important name, but this album never really elevates from the conceit of “interpreter.” Nice enough but a little samey after some 45 minutes of standard “traditional” tunes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5

This was really beautiful and I was captivated by Baez's voice throughout. The simple arrangements (if you can call it that when it's pretty just a guitar) mean the vocals are hard to ignore. I'd probably give it a 5 if there were any originality but they're all traditional folk songs by the looks of things

omfg she has a GREAT voice wow solid 3, i'd listen to it again (probably at night) AYOOOO?? EL PRESO NUMERO NUEVE??? I DIDN'T EXPECT HER TO SING IN SPANISH OMG solid 4 now

Wow what a voice! Good music for a lazy Sunday morning

Nice, bit boring.