(August 2025) Episode 665 is JOAN BAEZ. For too long I shunned her as a stereotype of the shrill, humorless, righteous folk singer. And while that’s not entirely untrue, the mistake is mine. Getting to know her work has been a pleasure. I especially like her in her early 60s prime with just her guitar and her voice. She did broaden out to include a band and other styles in a six-decade recording career, some of it weak but plenty good. Inseparable from her music and her life is the commitment to social justice and peace, which was the event setting of the one time I saw her in person. She was a vital figure in the 1960s folk revival, and is still speaking up as an activist, and deserves a listen I was too late in giving her.
Favorite album: Joan Baez (1960)
Favorite song: Birmingham Sunday
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: The six, mostly eponymously-named albums between 1960 and 1965.
Opus Project 