With her debut, Joan sweeps the dust off the Great American Folk Song Book with great style. Her wise choice of traditional songs forms the backbone of this album, but the driving pulse is found in her powerful singing and then-unparalleled acoustic guitar-playing. She also works traditional British and even Spanish songs seamlessly into her repertoire for this colorful and very enjoyable classic collection.

Joan is often unfairly overshadowed by her well-known relationship with Bob Dylan, but this record (which pre-dates Dylan’s first album) is ample proof of her own abilities as an inspired, yet very original arranger and interpreter. Although she was not blessed with Dylan’s gift for songwriting, her takes on such classics as “Silver Dagger”, “All My Trials”, and “Wildwood Flower” (to name a few) make this an essential addition to any modern folk collection. (w.g.)

Buy Joan Baez – Joan Baez (1960) at Amazon.
See Joan Baez live in Europe (Utrecht, Berlin, Hamburg and more in September and October) or later this year in the USA.

Another Joan Baez performance.