Audio CD review:
Joan Baez - Play Me Backwards

Joan Baez - Play Me Backwards

Band: Joan Baez Title: Play Me Backwards Rating: Release Date: 02 December, 2002 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Play Me Backwards 2: Amsterdam 3: Isaac & Abraham 4: Stones In The Road 5: Steal Across The Border 6: I'm With You 7: I'm With You (Reprise) 8: Strange Rivers 9: Through Your Hands 10: The Dream Song 11: Edge Of Glory

Customer Reviews Joan Baez Take a Giant Leap Forward with "PLAY ME BACKWARDS" A great CD will also make you think. A good CD will entertain and perhaps, even entice. And then there are those handful of artists who create an enchanting, magical work that takes the listener to a place they've never before been. Joan Baez has created such a piece with her CD "PLAY ME BACKWARDS". Filled with ethereal sounds and exotic beats, Ms. Baez is lightyears away from the acoustic simplicity of her early work, yet the purity and crystal clarity of her voice still eminates directly from her soul and commands center stage. Never one to shy away from controversy, this experimental piece is filled with risks, and they all pay off in the end. For instance, the title track "PLAY ME BACKWARDS" deals with religious ritual and child abuse-hardly the stuff that top 40 music is made of-and in the hands of a less skilled writer and singer, this song could have been a disaster. Instead, it is a brilliantly understated and magnificently presented work that sends shivers up the listener's spine. Juxtapose this with a gospel-inspired "I'm With You" and the CD begins to take you on an up-and-down journey of monumental proportions. Hidden in between the "big" music are tiny little gems which, upon second and third (and more) listening begin to coax you further along the journey. On "Amsterdam", a delicate love song by Janis Ian, Ms. Baez achieves exactly the right tone to bring this paper-thin song to life, and Mary-Chapin Carpenter's "Stones In The Road" is given a breath of fresh air in this wonderful rendition. While other "showier" songs on this flawless CD tend to reach out and instantly grab the listener (such as the Dali-esque "The Dream Song" with its soaring violins and haunting viola, and the triumphant "Edge Of Glory", for this reviewer, it is John Stewart's "Strange Rivers" that is most enchanting. When I interviewd Ms. Baez in the early 90's, she explained that "Strange Rivers" was recorded after a half hour of rehearsal, and then recorded live in the studio, while she jammed with the two other guitar players on this song. "We actually were able to look at each other's faces as we played" she exclaimed, "imagine that!. " Truth be told, I love Joan Baez, but have found some of her work to be a mixed bag. That is absolutely not the case with "Play Me Backwards". This is a genius work from one of the greatest women in American music. . Happy 30th Anniversary Joan Paul Simon, Jackson Browne helped with this collection. This is not a solo effort. Baez also covered Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Stones in the Road" and Janis Ian's "Amsterdam. " The meaning is complex, but the music is simple and beautiful. It's probably not the first Baez album I would buy, but definitely needs to be included in a collection of her work! . A great cd , Joan Baez singing is amazing I love Joan Baez's performance of "Trough your hands " . Musically is a very fine cd. This is a very interesting record anyway you look at it . I like interesting records, don't you?. . You can see a complete list of all Joan Baez discography, or go back to the Joan Baez tabs