Recording of the Month

Recording of June 1964: Joan Baez In Concert, Part 2

J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 13, 2018  |  First Published: Jun 1, 1964

Joan Baez In Concert, Part 2
Joan Baez, vocals, guitar
Vanguard VTC-1679 (tape), VSD-2123 (LP). Maynard Solomon, prod., Reice Hamel, eng. TT: 48:00.

Well, we finally got ourselves equipped to review 4-track open-reel tapes, via a slightly modified Ampex F-44. All the tapes we have auditioned had noticeably higher hiss than the average stereo disc, but this was not loud enough to be distracting except when the tapes were reproduced at very high levels. Even then, we found the smooth, even hiss to be less objectionable than the ticks and pops from some discs played at the same level.

Either you like Joan Baez or you don't. I happen to, so I thoroughly enjoyed this second collection of songs recorded at live concerts during her recent tours and released on tape. If you aren't a Baez enthusiast, what can I say? Except to add that, if you've never heard her, you should.

This is one of the most startlingly realistic, convincingly natural recordings I have ever heard. It is simply alive, and to try and describe it beyond that would be a waste of verbiage. There is no sense whatsoever of the mechanics of recording, and there are precious few recordings I know of of which this is true.

The "jacket notes" for this are an embarrassment, though. The whole thing is devoted to a very long poem by Bob Dylan (another, slightly less-known young folk singer) about how he found Faith through "Joanie." It's all very touching, but it belongs in Miss Baez's desk drawer, not on a record liner.—J. Gordon Holt

COMMENTS
Doctor Fine's picture
Submitted by Doctor Fine on November 13, 2018 - 4:23pm

I was just in Woodstock NY where I grew up in the 50s and early 60s.
Bob Zimmerman's tiny room above the building once know as "The Cafe Espresso" still looks to be intact.
It is my understanding that locals owned the bar and let the kid stay there when he was too poor for lodgings and anyway he was playing downstairs.
Gord-o's review notes about this "lesser known young folk singer" were a chuckle.
Gotta love it.
Hey Bob you can come back to Woodstock.
Nobody here to bother you anymore.
All the nuts have left.
I guarantee you this time will be different and you won't have kooks on your roof at three in the morning trying to get you to come out.
C'mon Bob.

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