Another great reaction. I am really glad you enjoyed Joan Baez and her voice so much. This is around 30 years since she first started performing in the late 50s and early 60s. So like Ann Wilson, she has a voice that has aged very well (still good at her 75th birthday concert). I like the orchestration on this cover, but I really think it needs a soulful guitar in the style of original in the mix, even if further back in the mix. I really notice its absence. Since you were so taken by her voice you really should dig deeper into her music on your own. You can still react to her on the channel, it just might not be your first listen.
A female vocalist that’s similar to Baez is Sandy Denny and maybe Judy Collins. Most female rock singers are usually somewhere between Wanda Jackson and Grace Slick. Joan is proper singer.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Amy did get to hear a little bit of Judy Collins performing with Leonard Cohen on Suzanne. I'm hoping Amy gets to hear Carol King, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, and Chrissie Hynde, to name just a few. Although these likely won't have that quality that Amy is drawn to in Joan's voice. A 'proper singer' as you refer to it. I had to chuckle since that is what my mom used to call singers I listened to that she liked. They were proper singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in her mind. I don't remember her specific take on Joan Baez, but I'm guessing she would have considered her a proper singer.
@@TootlinGeoff I just listened to this version with the added guitar. Excellent! This is exactly what I was looking for in this cover. Too bad Joan didn't add this when she recorded it, since I think her cover would have become much more popular with it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
It's in a different key though. I thought of recording solo guitar over Joan Baez's version, but it didn't work. It needs a complete rethinking and rewriting of a guitar part.
I grew up with Joan's music as my mom was a huge fan. Over the years they even became casual aquintances. My first concerts were the Big Sur Folk Festivals that Joan helped organize. So many memories. She was primarily an interpreter of the music of others, but you really need to have Diamonds and Rust (one of her own compositions) on your list.
Glad you have finally reached Joan Baez. As you read, Ms. Baez was a force for the protest/folk music genre. She has so many important works, but when you come back to her, you must listen to her piece 'Diamond and Rust' (as I am sure many others will implore). It is a bittersweet song of an early romance with another icon of the genre, Bob Dylan.
A very funny story regarding Joan.Besides her well documented romance with Dylan, she also dated Steve Jobs later on in her adult life. A Australian interviewer reminded her that she may be the only person on earth that had seen both Dylan and Jobs naked.
I really believe Diamonds and Rust is one of the best songs ever written -and I'm not even a huge Joan Baez fan. I'd love to see Amy react to it and see what she'd have to say!
I am a big fan of John Baez, her cousin, emeritus professor of mathematical physics at university of texas LOL. My late great aunt was a joan baez fan but I was to young to appreciate the music when Aunt Minnie played me her Joan Baez recordings.
I'd not heard this before. It's a beautiful version. I recommend her song Diamonds and Rust. She usually sings other people's work, but Diamonds and Rust is her own composition.
One of my favorite covers by Joan. She does not envision the soldier as proud to have given a life to war, rather as the soldier lamenting the stupidity of the waste his own life and all the others lost for an effort that in the years to come will likely be thought meaningless and forgotten.
I just want to take this moment to tell you and Vlad what a treasure your Virgin Rock channel is, and what it adds to my enjoyment of music, Amy. I often only comment here when I am at odds with you, and I want to assure you that the only reason I ever offer any critique is that I love music as much as you do. Your understanding of music from a classical and technical point of view adds so much to the world of rock. I don't know if you ever browse any of the other "reaction" videos on TH-cam, but none of them can touch what you do. As a singer-songwriter myself who grew up while rock itself was growing up, as I believe Lee Kennison did, we tend to have a more personal and intimate understanding of these songs and how their meaning fit into the era they came out in, than the majority of your viewers and Patreons. With my understanding of musical theory, I truly appreciate what you, Amy bring into the picture, and it has made my appreciation of the songs you have covered on your channel much deeper than it was previously. It has also helped my work in writing my own songs, and for this I truly thank you.
The arrangement is also notable. The muffled drums, the plain bass sound with all the texture coming from the organ. It’s a great way to support a vocalist, just enough instrumentation to move the song along and just one chordal instrument with an interesting timbre to serve as a counter balance for the vocal. Very well done. Thank you Virgin rock
Yes, Joan Baez has an incredible voice and an extraordinary way of singing. She is certainly one of my favorite female singers. I would perhaps only want to put one female voice next to it and that would be - don't laugh - Whitney Houston.
Now this is a truly powerful and emotional cover worthy of the original. Joan Baez has always had a voice to die for. Her clarity, tone and natural vibrato is instantly captivating. BTW, she is one of the best interpreters of the songs of Bob Dylan, with whom she had an intense love affair early in their careers.
I know this is heresy to some but although I am a huge Joan Baez fan, I actually DON'T like most of her covers of Dylan songs. I'm a huge Dylan fan as well and generally prefer his own versions of his songs. Now and again you get an awesome cover - e.g. Hendrix All Along the Watchtower, but generally ... Anyway, back to Joan, I agree with others here: Amy really needs to listen to Baez's Diamonds and Rust. Simply Awesome. She also did another superb Dire Straits cover - Why Worry? And although I'm an atheist, listening to her cover of Let It Be is almost enough to make me think there must be something! Similarly, with her live recording of Let Us Break Bread Together, including the intro to her history with the song, going back to civil rights marches with MLK. That recording is truly special ... and apparently she wasn't happy with her voice that day!?!?
Joan Baez has always had the most beautiful singing voice. A song of hers that always gives me chills is A Song For David which she wrote for her, then, husband who was in prison for resisting the draft. Her acoustic guitar playing on it is also particularly impressive.
I grew up listening to Joan Baez’s “David’s Album,” which is hauntingly beautiful. In particular, “Rock Salt and Nails” and “Tramp on the Street” absolutely captivate me every time I listen to them, even now, five decades since I first heard them. Stunning.
These were two nice covers, but I far prefer the original. Mark Knopfler's reserved vocals and the 'outsourcing' of the emotional part to his magnificent guitar make this piece absolutely wonderful for me. I don't know of any cover that can (or wants to) reproduce this artifice.
Some day you should check a short TH-cam video with an impromptu moment of Joan Baez and Nana Mouskouri singing together (amateur video, but what a treat!! A lightning in the jar moment)
As you probably know but Amy won't, Mark Knopfler went on to record an album and tour with Emmylou Harris, who began her career trying to sound like Baez, and much like Baez wrote a classic broken love song, Diamonds and Rust from Joan of course, and Boulder to Birmingham from Emmylou.
Maybe it’s because of the female voice, but for me this version flips the script into the civilian refugee perspective. A loss of ‘home’.(but my home is the lowlands, and always will be) Questioning why humanity keeps returning to this folly. Expressing gratitude to those who acted in defense. Comforting a dying soldier as night has fallen on the battlefield. The inevitably repeating foolishness of the wars of nations that ignores the costs to both those who fight them and those who endure them. Beautiful.
Two female vocalists in the folk, folk/rock, folk/pop genres that I like - and wonder if Amy would like - are Jacqui McShee of Pentangle = I fell in love with her rendition of Willy O'Winsbury. And Judith Durham of The Seekers - I really like her cover of California Dreaming. I'd love for Amy to investigate more of the folky female singers of the who rose to fame in the 60's and 70's, she might find another one she appreciates the voice of like Joan Baez.
Love Pentangle also and have seen them live as a group and Jansch and Renbourn individually on several occasions. and also please check out Sandy Denny (early Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and her solo work) --- the only guest singer to have appeared on a Led Zeppelin album. Another rock casualty to died too young (in 1978)
Danke für die 3 Interpretationen des Liedes 'Brothers in Arms'. Joan Baez' Stimme ist wirklich sehr speziell. .... Joan Baez war eine Anti Vietnam Krieg Aktivistin... 'Mitten im Vietnamkrieg kam Joan Baez 1972 nach Hanoi. Während draußen Bomben fielen, klampfte sie in einem Luftschutzraum zu Mutmacher-Liedern" (Der Spiegel 1972)...... ❤🎉
Love this version, interested in what you said about female vocalists, my favourite female singers are Kirsty MacColl R.I.P the way she can Harmonize with herself is extraordinary. Alison Moyet is an incredible singer who never quite found the right genre for her talents.
I hadn't heard Joan's version before. It exceded my expectations. I got the chills too.I would have thought she is more of a folk singer than a rock singer - can anyone direct me to a good example of her rock style? Regards female singing distracting from the music being a concern, I'm sure we can come up with a defence. How about Stevie Nicks's vocals on Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams'? Seems like a match made in heaven to me. Kudos to Mark in writing a super song which had so much potential.
She is not a screamer. The LP. ' Diamonds and rust' is sort of a collection of different styles - including Jackson Browne , Stevie Wonder & R. Betts blue sky. 1976 I think.
Sounds like this is the first time that Amy has reacted to Joan Baez, which surprises me. I'm sure she'll get back to her soon enough. She should also check out her documentary about her life and career that came out last fall titled "I Am A Noise". Never been a particularly big Baez fan, but that documentary made me appreciate her a lot more.
She did a song from the soundtrack of the movie "Silent Running". That would be a good movie to watch for Earth Day. Bruce Dern was awesome in that one, as the most passionate nature lover you'll ever see! 🌱🌎
"Rejoice in the Sun" - it took my breath away and sent chills down my spine in 1972 when I heard it in the theater for the first time. Over 50 years on and I remember the feeling as if it was yesterday...
Great commentary on the handling of these three different versions of Brothers in Arms. If you're looking for interesting categories of music to react to, might I suggest protest/activist/political songs? Joan Baez is a great place to start -- I'd recommend her performance of "Joe Hill" at Woodstock, for example. The great thing about a series like that is that it would cut across so many genres, from folk to rock, R&B, punk, reggae and so much more.
I like your reactions you should react to Home Frees cover of Bothers in Arms they are an A cappella group of 5 men with incredible range. They are so good at make there covers there own and as good if not better then the original.
Maybe the best female voice in the business. Try listening to her "Babe, I'm gonna leave you" that also showed up on Led Zeppelin's first album. If you are looking for another female singer at her level, try Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane. Their two big songs, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" were monster hits, but try some of the others. i recommend "Today", "Coming Back to Me", or "Pretty as You Feel", or you can listen to "Lather" and it will rip your heart out.
Not strictly rock, I reckon, but if you're particular about voices, I'm waiting for you to listen to Karen Carpenter. I could give suggestions, but, frankly, anything with her will do. By the way, Joan Baez is one of my favorites, too.
Baez definitely has a different interpretation as she and much of her generation were against the war, yet many were forced to fight because of the draft. The sad thing is that many anti-war activists did not treat the soldiers who went to war very humanely, Joan did so in this song 💖
Since you liked Joan Baez a voice I’ve enjoyed for at least fifty five years. You may enjoy Eva Cassidy singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Her version oozes with emotion at a level seldom heard.
I wonder who the musicians are on this track and when it was recorded? Love the organ. Your are right, her voice is incredible. She is very familiar to me of course, being about the same age as she is. I love the production, and it is not the type of production that she is usually identified with, which is more in the acoustic guitar folky type style. I would love to hear you analysis if the key, chord progression, and production aspects, as well as your opinion of her vocal qualities.
Interesting. I might have missed some nuance but I saw this as later in time, an old soldier who survived the war, losing a lot of friends, traumatized but carrying on with his life, haunted by memories on his death bed, and maybe in the company of one or two of his friends who also survived, saying goodbye to them, and goodbye to his memories of that war, and of course, realizing what a folly it all was. You might consider Tom Waits, and "Hell Broke Luce"-- THAT is very heavy, and the reference is to a much more recent war. And you might find his voice challenging.
Somehow Joan Baez seems to get overlooked in comparison to Joni Mitchell (and don't get me wrong I really like Joni Mitchell) but to me Joan Baez is the real deal on so many fronts.
Yep , J.M. writes a lot of real real good tunes. my fave is Hejira, around 1975, one of my fave albums. writing songs is critical - without good songs....
Baez got her start singing songs of protest against the Vietnam war. "Brothers in Arms" is not a folk song, and it does not fit smoothly into the catalog of her best-known songs. But the subject matter is exactly right for her. The high point of Baez's career is Diamonds and Rust, the 1975 album based on memories of her love affair with Bob Dylan. Baez is not known as a songwriter, but the title track is devastatingly beautiful and emotional. The album includes a couple of songs that seem out of place, but it is in some ways perfect. Her candor and transparency are heartbreaking. Baez and Dylan have maintained a public conversation in the lyrics of their songs over the decades. Fans enjoy trying to figure out which of Dylan's songs are about Baez and vice-versa. In Diamonds and Rust, there is no guesswork involved.
Baez did not get her 'start' singing songs of protest against the Vietnam war. Baez began her professional singing career in 1958. Although the US was 'involved' in Vietnam then, it was at a low level. Baez was established by the early 60s and, as others have said, played a big role in popularising Dylan songs. Again, whilst there was stuff going on in Vietnam around that time, it was still before it really hit wide public consciousness. The US only had 16,000 troops in Vietnam in 1964 (grew to >500k by 1969).
Two suggestions for future "Great Covers": 1) One of the greatest anti-war songs ever, "With God On Our Side", original, Bob Dylan, 1963 2) House Of The Rising Sun, traditional, no credited author, or date. Two (of many) females who have done both those songs who I think deserve listening to are Joan Baez, and Odetta.
John mccutcheon "Christmas in the trenches" is wonderful (imho). Your talk at the end reminded me of Shakespeare. In Julius caesar, brutus and Cassius are going into battle so they take their "forever farewell". Each tells the other something like... Let us take our forever farewell. If we meet again, we will smile, if not, this parting was well done.
If you want to hear the best, and probably the most underestimated, female singer/songwriter of the folk genre, you need to listen to Buffy St.Marie. Her song "Universal Soldier", which was a big hit when Bob Dillon covered it, is not just a great tune, but shows a depth of understanding and compassion lyrically.
I’m kind of new to your channel and was wondering if you had ever done a video on Janis Joplin doing Ball and Chain at the Monterey Pop festival in 1967
Delores O'Ridian of the Cranberries. Drank herself to death. Great vocalist with the proper Rock vibe. Joan Bias is a folk music vibe. Chis Hind and the Pretenders. Think most of the band OD's bit Hind has the sass Rock needs.
Dolores died of an accidental overdose involving fentanyl which she took under prescription to deal with bipolar disorder. Official report by the coroner in England. She was a mother of three and not in any way thinking of checking out. Please have respect for her family.
For further listening of Joan Baez you should look up her recording of Annabel Lee here on TH-cam. It is quite unlike anything else you are likely to encounter in your journey through rock music.
If you thought Joan's voice was good you might Enjoy Emmy-Lou. Maybe Tulsa Queen, Ballad of a Runaway Horse, Red Dirt Girl or her Pale Bule Eyes duet with Sheryl Crow. This is not too bad an outing from Joan but, for me, her songs The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, For Bobby, and In The Quiet Morning are the ones that I turn to when I want to hear Joan's voice.
I heard a version performed by a small choir in Ruislip and it was an order of a billion times the magnitude of either of the covers you have appraised. I predict that this song will become a hymn as part of the official canon. The choir was even more powerful than the Dire Straits version. The voices of the choir were so beautiful, so pure, I had a bit of a moment and embarrassed myself as deeply as one can do in public. Until you hear this sung by a choir, if they handle it properly, you will never experience the infinite power of it. I really think Metallica murdered it by the way. It was Christmas.
Incredibile come le diverse interpretazioni modifichino in maniera così netta una canzone. Nell'originale c'è la condanna della guerra da parte di un uomo che la guerra l'ha fatta; nella seconda quella di una donna che la guerra l'ha "subita". Se non conoscessi la versione dei Dire Straits credo che apprezzerei maggiormente questa cover. Ma mi manca la chitarra che parla più delle parole🤷
My definition of a great cover is one that is considered the standard and not the original version. Something like Hurt by Johnny Cash or Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers are two examples.
In the Metallica version the second voice -- that of Knopflers guitar -- is replaced with the playing of an acoustic guitar (played well, but it's not a "voice"), this version is...just missing the second part completely! There's a void where the guitar -- or at least SOMETHING -- needs to be. All there is is the incidental organ music. In its own way Joan's voice is really good for this song, different from Knopflers, and has an almost Gaelic lilt or style to it. Overall i much prefer the original, but i shall now look for the version where Knopfler's guitar voice has been added to see what that is like.
I rarely enjoy Baez’s performances because of her overuse of vibrato, covering up what can be a both pure and powerful voice. The oft mentioned Diamonds and Rust shows what she’s capable of.
This Cover is another DUD imo. The truly great thing about the original is Knopflers GUITAR. It's his guitar tone and his choice of notes that are timeless beauty imo. Any cover without his lead guitar is a weak dud imo. I also prefer the keyboard in the original. I'll give Joan's fabulous voice higher points than Hetfield but the overall effect of hers is still a big disappointment imo. It sounds naked without Knopflers lead guitar. Stripped of its power
If this cover had the guitar of Mark Knopfler it would be the perfect one.. Its really great, one of the best but you know.. you keep expecting for Mark Knopfler''s guitar to start playing but never does and this is a little distracting. Well since we are in the AI era, maybe someone could integrate the guitar parts.
I hadn't heard her version. I generally don't listen to her music. It was interesting but I didn't feel her presence in the song as much as the other versions. She sang it well enough though.
The original is the best. Hatfield's vocals miss the point of the protagonist weakening as he is dying. Homefree is lacking grit and grime, too barbershop. Like i said earlier, it is a man weakened and dying. Baez sounds great. Only that it isn't the same gender due to first person lyrics
This song was written from the perspective of a soldier, dying on the battle field. His friends are trying to save his, but he knows it's futile. That's why I don't like the Metallica version. It pays no respect.
I find this version too polite and too "just a song" missing a second voice. While Mark Knopfler isn't a great singer, he certainly makes it up with his guitar. It may not be from the best Dire Straits album, but it is one of the most iconic instrumental voices ever. Here, only the organ chords are left, where the guitar was, making a bit strange holes in the song...
I really miss Marks guitar on this one, however this version is definitely listenable and enjoyable in comparison to Metallica's disgraceful butchering of this beautiful song.
I found myself really disappointed when the drums kicked in. It was sounding like it might be a really interesting interpretation of a great song up till that point. The drums represent nothing but utterly superfluous time-keeping here. When drums are called for, they’re the coolest thing in the world. But so much music puts a boring, basic drum beat in simply because somebody thinks drums are obligatory in this idiom, not because they actually add anything valuable.
Another great reaction. I am really glad you enjoyed Joan Baez and her voice so much. This is around 30 years since she first started performing in the late 50s and early 60s. So like Ann Wilson, she has a voice that has aged very well (still good at her 75th birthday concert). I like the orchestration on this cover, but I really think it needs a soulful guitar in the style of original in the mix, even if further back in the mix. I really notice its absence. Since you were so taken by her voice you really should dig deeper into her music on your own. You can still react to her on the channel, it just might not be your first listen.
There's a recording out there where someone has dubbed Mark knopfler's guitar part over this and the effect is amazing.
A female vocalist that’s similar to Baez is Sandy Denny and maybe Judy Collins. Most female rock singers are usually somewhere between Wanda Jackson and Grace Slick. Joan is proper singer.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Amy did get to hear a little bit of Judy Collins performing with Leonard Cohen on Suzanne. I'm hoping Amy gets to hear Carol King, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, and Chrissie Hynde, to name just a few. Although these likely won't have that quality that Amy is drawn to in Joan's voice. A 'proper singer' as you refer to it. I had to chuckle since that is what my mom used to call singers I listened to that she liked. They were proper singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in her mind. I don't remember her specific take on Joan Baez, but I'm guessing she would have considered her a proper singer.
@@TootlinGeoff I just listened to this version with the added guitar. Excellent! This is exactly what I was looking for in this cover. Too bad Joan didn't add this when she recorded it, since I think her cover would have become much more popular with it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Look on You Tube for Kendoplex version with added Knopler-like guitar to the Joan Baez recording. It's very good even if not MK himself on guitar
Baez's cover is sheer perfection.
Joan is really something else. What an amazing singer!
Fabulous interpretation by Joan Baez. Imagine a joint version with Knopfler’s beautiful guitar playing.
It's in a different key though. I thought of recording solo guitar over Joan Baez's version, but it didn't work. It needs a complete rethinking and rewriting of a guitar part.
Didn’t expect to love this version so much but it is compellingly beautiful ❤
Haunting is a word I would use.
Yes, her voice is authentic. Because this is who she is.
Authentic.
I grew up with Joan's music as my mom was a huge fan. Over the years they even became casual aquintances. My first concerts were the Big Sur Folk Festivals that Joan helped organize. So many memories. She was primarily an interpreter of the music of others, but you really need to have Diamonds and Rust (one of her own compositions) on your list.
Glad you have finally reached Joan Baez. As you read, Ms. Baez was a force for the protest/folk music genre. She has so many important works, but when you come back to her, you must listen to her piece 'Diamond and Rust' (as I am sure many others will implore). It is a bittersweet song of an early romance with another icon of the genre, Bob Dylan.
A very funny story regarding Joan.Besides her well documented romance with Dylan, she also dated Steve Jobs later on in her adult life. A Australian interviewer reminded her that she may be the only person on earth that had seen both Dylan and Jobs naked.
I really believe Diamonds and Rust is one of the best songs ever written -and I'm not even a huge Joan Baez fan. I'd love to see Amy react to it and see what she'd have to say!
@@noother964 Me too.
Imagine having a song like diamonds and rust written about your past relationship.
I am a big fan of John Baez, her cousin, emeritus professor of mathematical physics at university of texas LOL. My late great aunt was a joan baez fan but I was to young to appreciate the music when Aunt Minnie played me her Joan Baez recordings.
I'd not heard this before. It's a beautiful version. I recommend her song Diamonds and Rust. She usually sings other people's work, but Diamonds and Rust is her own composition.
One of my favorite covers by Joan. She does not envision the soldier as proud to have given a life to war, rather as the soldier lamenting the stupidity of the waste his own life and all the others lost for an effort that in the years to come will likely be thought meaningless and forgotten.
What a voice. I do miss that lyrical guitar of Mark Knopfler though. Such an evocative song altogether.
😍😍😍😍😍 Non ho parole!
what a great cover... honor to her
I just want to take this moment to tell you and Vlad what a treasure your Virgin Rock channel is, and what it adds to my enjoyment of music, Amy. I often only comment here when I am at odds with you, and I want to assure you that the only reason I ever offer any critique is that I love music as much as you do. Your understanding of music from a classical and technical point of view adds so much to the world of rock. I don't know if you ever browse any of the other "reaction" videos on TH-cam, but none of them can touch what you do. As a singer-songwriter myself who grew up while rock itself was growing up, as I believe Lee Kennison did, we tend to have a more personal and intimate understanding of these songs and how their meaning fit into the era they came out in, than the majority of your viewers and Patreons. With my understanding of musical theory, I truly appreciate what you, Amy bring into the picture, and it has made my appreciation of the songs you have covered on your channel much deeper than it was previously. It has also helped my work in writing my own songs, and for this I truly thank you.
The arrangement is also notable. The muffled drums, the plain bass sound with all the texture coming from the organ. It’s a great way to support a vocalist, just enough instrumentation to move the song along and just one chordal instrument with an interesting timbre to serve as a counter balance for the vocal. Very well done. Thank you Virgin rock
Yes, Joan Baez has an incredible voice and an extraordinary way of singing. She is certainly one of my favorite female singers. I would perhaps only want to put one female voice next to it and that would be - don't laugh - Whitney Houston.
Now this is a truly powerful and emotional cover worthy of the original. Joan Baez has always had a voice to die for. Her clarity, tone and natural vibrato is instantly captivating. BTW, she is one of the best interpreters of the songs of Bob Dylan, with whom she had an intense love affair early in their careers.
I know this is heresy to some but although I am a huge Joan Baez fan, I actually DON'T like most of her covers of Dylan songs. I'm a huge Dylan fan as well and generally prefer his own versions of his songs. Now and again you get an awesome cover - e.g. Hendrix All Along the Watchtower, but generally ...
Anyway, back to Joan, I agree with others here: Amy really needs to listen to Baez's Diamonds and Rust. Simply Awesome. She also did another superb Dire Straits cover - Why Worry?
And although I'm an atheist, listening to her cover of Let It Be is almost enough to make me think there must be something!
Similarly, with her live recording of Let Us Break Bread Together, including the intro to her history with the song, going back to civil rights marches with MLK. That recording is truly special ... and apparently she wasn't happy with her voice that day!?!?
I’ve been a fan of hers since I was a teen (I’m now 76). Still a huge fan.
Joan Baez has always had the most beautiful singing voice. A song of hers that always gives me chills is A Song For David which she wrote for her, then, husband who was in prison for resisting the draft. Her acoustic guitar playing on it is also particularly impressive.
I grew up listening to Joan Baez’s “David’s Album,” which is hauntingly beautiful. In particular, “Rock Salt and Nails” and “Tramp on the Street” absolutely captivate me every time I listen to them, even now, five decades since I first heard them. Stunning.
These were two nice covers, but I far prefer the original. Mark Knopfler's reserved vocals and the 'outsourcing' of the emotional part to his magnificent guitar make this piece absolutely wonderful for me. I don't know of any cover that can (or wants to) reproduce this artifice.
Some day you should check a short TH-cam video with an impromptu moment of Joan Baez and Nana Mouskouri singing together (amateur video, but what a treat!! A lightning in the jar moment)
Tears. Sad, bitter tears.
Nice version but I can still hear Mark Knopfler's guitar lines in my head. Something is missing from this version by Joan Baez. Great voice through.
As you probably know but Amy won't, Mark Knopfler went on to record an album and tour with Emmylou Harris, who began her career trying to sound like Baez, and much like Baez wrote a classic broken love song, Diamonds and Rust from Joan of course, and Boulder to Birmingham from Emmylou.
You might like to try Diamonds and Rust and Soldier Blue by Joan. Another female singer? Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
Maybe it’s because of the female voice, but for me this version flips the script into the civilian refugee perspective. A loss of ‘home’.(but my home is the lowlands, and always will be) Questioning why humanity keeps returning to this folly. Expressing gratitude to those who acted in defense. Comforting a dying soldier as night has fallen on the battlefield. The inevitably repeating foolishness of the wars of nations that ignores the costs to both those who fight them and those who endure them. Beautiful.
Joan Baez was chosen, at 22, to sing We Shall Overcome at Doctor Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington.
Two female vocalists in the folk, folk/rock, folk/pop genres that I like - and wonder if Amy would like - are Jacqui McShee of Pentangle = I fell in love with her rendition of Willy O'Winsbury. And Judith Durham of The Seekers - I really like her cover of California Dreaming. I'd love for Amy to investigate more of the folky female singers of the who rose to fame in the 60's and 70's, she might find another one she appreciates the voice of like Joan Baez.
Love Pentangle also and have seen them live as a group and Jansch and Renbourn individually on several occasions. and also please check out Sandy Denny (early Fairport Convention, Fotheringay and her solo work) --- the only guest singer to have appeared on a Led Zeppelin album. Another rock casualty to died too young (in 1978)
Danke für die 3 Interpretationen des Liedes 'Brothers in Arms'.
Joan Baez' Stimme ist wirklich sehr speziell. ....
Joan Baez war eine Anti Vietnam Krieg Aktivistin... 'Mitten im Vietnamkrieg kam Joan Baez 1972 nach Hanoi. Während draußen Bomben fielen, klampfte sie in einem Luftschutzraum zu Mutmacher-Liedern" (Der Spiegel 1972)...... ❤🎉
She dated Bob Dylan back in the mid sixties. She’s covered a lot of his songs. Diamonds and Rust is about their relationship. ❤️❤️❤️
and was a big boost to his career. She was a big star back then, on cover of time mag etc
@@rickc661 This!!! Dylan used her to advance his own career.
I can't wait to see Amy.
Great job AMY!
Love this version, interested in what you said about female vocalists, my favourite female singers are Kirsty MacColl R.I.P the way she can Harmonize with herself is extraordinary.
Alison Moyet is an incredible singer who never quite found the right genre for her talents.
I hadn't heard Joan's version before. It exceded my expectations. I got the chills too.I would have thought she is more of a folk singer than a rock singer - can anyone direct me to a good example of her rock style?
Regards female singing distracting from the music being a concern, I'm sure we can come up with a defence. How about Stevie Nicks's vocals on Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams'? Seems like a match made in heaven to me.
Kudos to Mark in writing a super song which had so much potential.
She is not a screamer. The LP. ' Diamonds and rust' is sort of a collection of different styles - including Jackson Browne , Stevie Wonder & R. Betts blue sky. 1976 I think.
@@rickc661 Thanks, will check it out.
Sounds like this is the first time that Amy has reacted to Joan Baez, which surprises me. I'm sure she'll get back to her soon enough. She should also check out her documentary about her life and career that came out last fall titled "I Am A Noise". Never been a particularly big Baez fan, but that documentary made me appreciate her a lot more.
She did a song from the soundtrack of the movie "Silent Running". That would be a good movie to watch for Earth Day. Bruce Dern was awesome in that one, as the most passionate nature lover you'll ever see! 🌱🌎
"Rejoice in the Sun" - it took my breath away and sent chills down my spine in 1972 when I heard it in the theater for the first time. Over 50 years on and I remember the feeling as if it was yesterday...
Great commentary on the handling of these three different versions of Brothers in Arms. If you're looking for interesting categories of music to react to, might I suggest protest/activist/political songs? Joan Baez is a great place to start -- I'd recommend her performance of "Joe Hill" at Woodstock, for example. The great thing about a series like that is that it would cut across so many genres, from folk to rock, R&B, punk, reggae and so much more.
Her live version of "Joe Hill" will give you chills.
This isn't the first foray of battlefield songs for Joan. She also sang The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.
And how good was that👍
You ain't wrong girl
I like your reactions you should react to Home Frees cover of Bothers in Arms they are an A cappella group of 5 men with incredible range. They are so good at make there covers there own and as good if not better then the original.
Maybe the best female voice in the business. Try listening to her "Babe, I'm gonna leave you" that also showed up on Led Zeppelin's first album.
If you are looking for another female singer at her level, try Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane. Their two big songs, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" were monster hits, but try some of the others. i recommend "Today", "Coming Back to Me", or "Pretty as You Feel", or you can listen to "Lather" and it will rip your heart out.
Enjoyed this one too
Not strictly rock, I reckon, but if you're particular about voices, I'm waiting for you to listen to Karen Carpenter. I could give suggestions, but, frankly, anything with her will do.
By the way, Joan Baez is one of my favorites, too.
Baez's spoken song: "There are great puddles of blood on the world
Where is it all going? all this spilled blood?"
Baez definitely has a different interpretation as she and much of her generation were against the war, yet many were forced to fight because of the draft. The sad thing is that many anti-war activists did not treat the soldiers who went to war very humanely, Joan did so in this song 💖
Since you liked Joan Baez a voice I’ve enjoyed for at least fifty five years. You may enjoy Eva Cassidy singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Her version oozes with emotion at a level seldom heard.
I wonder who the musicians are on this track and when it was recorded? Love the organ. Your are right, her voice is incredible. She is very familiar to me of course, being about the same age as she is. I love the production, and it is not the type of production that she is usually identified with, which is more in the acoustic guitar folky type style. I would love to hear you analysis if the key, chord progression, and production aspects, as well as your opinion of her vocal qualities.
Interesting. I might have missed some nuance but I saw this as later in time, an old soldier who survived the war, losing a lot of friends, traumatized but carrying on with his life, haunted by memories on his death bed, and maybe in the company of one or two of his friends who also survived, saying goodbye to them, and goodbye to his memories of that war, and of course, realizing what a folly it all was. You might consider Tom Waits, and "Hell Broke Luce"-- THAT is very heavy, and the reference is to a much more recent war. And you might find his voice challenging.
Love your channel! Please consider doing a review of Disturbed’s cover of The Sound Of Silence.
Somehow Joan Baez seems to get overlooked in comparison to Joni Mitchell (and don't get me wrong I really like Joni Mitchell) but to me Joan Baez is the real deal on so many fronts.
Yep , J.M. writes a lot of real real good tunes. my fave is Hejira, around 1975, one of my fave albums. writing songs is critical - without good songs....
Baez got her start singing songs of protest against the Vietnam war. "Brothers in Arms" is not a folk song, and it does not fit smoothly into the catalog of her best-known songs. But the subject matter is exactly right for her.
The high point of Baez's career is Diamonds and Rust, the 1975 album based on memories of her love affair with Bob Dylan. Baez is not known as a songwriter, but the title track is devastatingly beautiful and emotional. The album includes a couple of songs that seem out of place, but it is in some ways perfect. Her candor and transparency are heartbreaking.
Baez and Dylan have maintained a public conversation in the lyrics of their songs over the decades. Fans enjoy trying to figure out which of Dylan's songs are about Baez and vice-versa. In Diamonds and Rust, there is no guesswork involved.
Baez did not get her 'start' singing songs of protest against the Vietnam war. Baez began her professional singing career in 1958. Although the US was 'involved' in Vietnam then, it was at a low level. Baez was established by the early 60s and, as others have said, played a big role in popularising Dylan songs. Again, whilst there was stuff going on in Vietnam around that time, it was still before it really hit wide public consciousness. The US only had 16,000 troops in Vietnam in 1964 (grew to >500k by 1969).
Great covers! Try Judas Priests cover of Joan Baez "Diamonds and Rust" off Unleashed in the East
But listen to the original first!
@@thomassharmer7127 The live version is when they made it their own. I thought that was what this was about.
That would be an excellent idea for a future Great Covers weekend.
Joan Baez - House of the rising sun 1960 (before The Animals)
Two suggestions for future "Great Covers": 1) One of the greatest anti-war songs ever, "With God On Our Side", original, Bob Dylan, 1963 2) House Of The Rising Sun, traditional, no credited author, or date. Two (of many) females who have done both those songs who I think deserve listening to are Joan Baez, and Odetta.
John mccutcheon "Christmas in the trenches" is wonderful (imho).
Your talk at the end reminded me of Shakespeare. In Julius caesar, brutus and Cassius are going into battle so they take their "forever farewell". Each tells the other something like...
Let us take our forever farewell. If we meet again, we will smile, if not, this parting was well done.
A voice you might not like is Nina Hagen. I love her music. And she has done a few covers.
Check out an a cappella version by Home Free.
There's a version on utube mixing Joan baez's voice with Mark knopfler's guitar. Love it.
I realize you are only doing covers... but I would recommend Joan's much earlier work in the mid 1960s... especially some of her Spanish vocal work
Oh my gosh, you must listen to Home Frees stunning rendition of this song!
Would be good to get your reaction to her song Diamonds and Rust covered by an old aged Judas Priest 😸👍
If you want to hear the best, and probably the most underestimated, female singer/songwriter of the folk genre, you need to listen to Buffy St.Marie. Her song "Universal Soldier", which was a big hit when Bob Dillon covered it, is not just a great tune, but shows a depth of understanding and compassion lyrically.
I’m kind of new to your channel and was wondering if you had ever done a video on Janis Joplin doing Ball and Chain at the Monterey Pop festival in 1967
Might like to hear Laura Nyro - "Ëli's Coming" as another female voice...
Delores O'Ridian of the Cranberries. Drank herself to death. Great vocalist with the proper Rock vibe. Joan Bias is a folk music vibe. Chis Hind and the Pretenders. Think most of the band OD's bit Hind has the sass Rock needs.
Dolores died of an accidental overdose involving fentanyl which she took under prescription to deal with bipolar disorder. Official report by the coroner in England. She was a mother of three and not in any way thinking of checking out. Please have respect for her family.
For further listening of Joan Baez you should look up her recording of Annabel Lee here on TH-cam. It is quite unlike anything else you are likely to encounter in your journey through rock music.
Anothers incredible version is by Nina Persson!!
I had no idea 'til now that JB had covered this song... And yet, of *course* she did! =:o}
Thank you for enlightening me.
If you thought Joan's voice was good you might Enjoy Emmy-Lou. Maybe Tulsa Queen, Ballad of a Runaway Horse, Red Dirt Girl or her Pale Bule Eyes duet with Sheryl Crow. This is not too bad an outing from Joan but, for me, her songs The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, For Bobby, and In The Quiet Morning are the ones that I turn to when I want to hear Joan's voice.
S9me female singers you may want to explore: Karen Carpenter, Judith Durham and Linda Ronstadt.
I heard a version performed by a small choir in Ruislip and it was an order of a billion times the magnitude of either of the covers you have appraised. I predict that this song will become a hymn as part of the official canon. The choir was even more powerful than the Dire Straits version. The voices of the choir were so beautiful, so pure, I had a bit of a moment and embarrassed myself as deeply as one can do in public. Until you hear this sung by a choir, if they handle it properly, you will never experience the infinite power of it. I really think Metallica murdered it by the way. It was Christmas.
Please do the cover of ‘Smells Likes Teen Spirit’ by Tori Amos!
If think you like the cover of a Marillion song, The Hollow Man by Frequency Drift.
Oh, that distorted Harp is great...
Beautiful singing and excellent diction but I soooo much miss Knopfler's exquisite guitar-playing.
Try Tori Amos and her version of Leonard Cohen's "Famous blue raincoat".
Or Aurora's version !
Incredibile come le diverse interpretazioni modifichino in maniera così netta una canzone. Nell'originale c'è la condanna della guerra da parte di un uomo che la guerra l'ha fatta; nella seconda quella di una donna che la guerra l'ha "subita".
Se non conoscessi la versione dei Dire Straits credo che apprezzerei maggiormente questa cover. Ma mi manca la chitarra che parla più delle parole🤷
My definition of a great cover is one that is considered the standard and not the original version. Something like Hurt by Johnny Cash or Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers are two examples.
Joan and Karen Carpenter are my favorite female voices. Thank you. Want to check a younger singer-composer? Go for Melanie Martinez.
In the Metallica version the second voice -- that of Knopflers guitar -- is replaced with the playing of an acoustic guitar (played well, but it's not a "voice"), this version is...just missing the second part completely! There's a void where the guitar -- or at least SOMETHING -- needs to be. All there is is the incidental organ music. In its own way Joan's voice is really good for this song, different from Knopflers, and has an almost Gaelic lilt or style to it. Overall i much prefer the original, but i shall now look for the version where Knopfler's guitar voice has been added to see what that is like.
Sinead?
I rarely enjoy Baez’s performances because of her overuse of vibrato, covering up what can be a both pure and powerful voice. The oft mentioned Diamonds and Rust shows what she’s capable of.
This Cover is another DUD imo. The truly great thing about the original is Knopflers GUITAR. It's his guitar tone and his choice of notes that are timeless beauty imo. Any cover without his lead guitar is a weak dud imo. I also prefer the keyboard in the original. I'll give Joan's fabulous voice higher points than Hetfield but the overall effect of hers is still a big disappointment imo. It sounds naked without Knopflers lead guitar. Stripped of its power
Brothers in arms without the guitar is like a cheeseburger without the cheese
I know what you mean, but what if they replaced that awful synthesised noise with a guitar. This singer does have an excellent voice. It could work, 🤔
That one put me to sleep.
If this cover had the guitar of Mark Knopfler it would be the perfect one.. Its really great, one of the best but you know.. you keep expecting for Mark Knopfler''s guitar to start playing but never does and this is a little distracting. Well since we are in the AI era, maybe someone could integrate the guitar parts.
I hadn't heard her version. I generally don't listen to her music. It was interesting but I didn't feel her presence in the song as much as the other versions. She sang it well enough though.
The original is the best. Hatfield's vocals miss the point of the protagonist weakening as he is dying.
Homefree is lacking grit and grime, too barbershop. Like i said earlier, it is a man weakened and dying.
Baez sounds great. Only that it isn't the same gender due to first person lyrics
Hmmm...very opinionated on female voices. I'm guessing you don't/won't like Joan Jett....but she sure can rock out!
Joan Jett actually is a rock singer, Baez is decidedly not.
This song was written from the perspective of a soldier, dying on the battle field. His friends are trying to save his, but he knows it's futile. That's why I don't like the Metallica version. It pays no respect.
I find this version too polite and too "just a song" missing a second voice.
While Mark Knopfler isn't a great singer, he certainly makes it up with his guitar.
It may not be from the best Dire Straits album, but it is one of the most iconic instrumental voices ever.
Here, only the organ chords are left, where the guitar was, making a bit strange holes in the song...
I really miss Marks guitar on this one, however this version is definitely listenable and enjoyable in comparison to Metallica's disgraceful butchering of this beautiful song.
I found myself really disappointed when the drums kicked in. It was sounding like it might be a really interesting interpretation of a great song up till that point. The drums represent nothing but utterly superfluous time-keeping here. When drums are called for, they’re the coolest thing in the world. But so much music puts a boring, basic drum beat in simply because somebody thinks drums are obligatory in this idiom, not because they actually add anything valuable.
Nah