Having enjoyed her Nashville experience recording an album of Dylan songs (Any Day Now) and an album for her husband (David's Album) in the same sessions, Joan Baez soon made Tennessee a frequent spot for cutting her records. This let her work with top musicians who could give her tunes a country feel, and it inspired her to cover country songs at a time when most listeners associated country music with right-wing politics the way they associated folk music with the left wing. The traditional Cajun number "Jolie Blonde" and Willie Nelson's "I Live One Day at a Time" sounded as natural in her hands as Earl Robinson's "Joe Hill" and Pete Seeger's "Carry It On." Her take on the classic "Long Black Veil" is flawless. Bonnie Bramlett's "Ghetto" is a timely touch. The excellent "Sweet Sir Galahad" and "A Song for David" were the first two songs written solely by Baez to appear on one of her albums. This reissue adds two Merle Haggard covers, "Sing Me Back Home" and "Mama Tried," sung as duets with Jeffrey Shurtleff.
Featured On
- Judy Collins
- Gillian Welch
- Peter, Paul & Mary
- Various Artists
- Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger
- Leonard Cohen
- Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & Tony Rice