"Living/True Stories And Other Dreams/Judith" by JUDY COLLINS - 1971, 1973 and 1975 US Albums on Elektra (October 2018 UK Beat Goes On Records (BGO) Compilation - 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Send In The Clowns..." 

This gorgeous-sounding 2018 twofer from Beat Goes On of the UK offers Judy Collins fans a tasty triple whammy - three of her most popular albums from the first half of the Seventies remastered onto 2CDs in proper style after years languishing in the Nineties and Naughties digital dust.

First up is, "Living", released late 1971 on Elektra Records which peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Top 100, then "True Stories And Other Dreams" from early 1973 (peaked at No. 27 and was called just "True Stories" in the UK) and the one she’s probably most remembered for – the "Send In The Clowns" album simply called "Judith" from 1975.

Bolstered up by that mammoth-selling single – the album "Judith" was a real seller for her peaking at No. 17 in the USA but marking her biggest chart presence in the UK since "Amazing Grace" went to No. 3 in November 1970 – an impressive No. 7 on the UK LP charts. I can remember the power of that almost spiritual ballad in 1975 – its pained sadness seemed to be literally everywhere (Radio and TV) and many were moved to cover it for years to come. Here are the living details...

UK released Friday, 12 October 2018 - "Living/True Stories And Other Dreams/Judith" by JUDY COLLINS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1352 (Barcode 5017261213525) offers 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

CD 1 (64:03 minutes):

1. Joan Of Arc [Side 1]

2. Four Strong Winds

3. Vietnam Love Song

4. Innisfree

5. Song For Judith (Open The Door)

6. All Things Are Quite Silent [Side 2]

7. Easy Times

8. Chelsea Morning

9. Famous Blue Raincoat

10. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Tracks 1 to 10 are her album "Living" - released November 1971 in the USA on Elektra EKS 75014 and January 1972 in the UK on Elektra K 42102.

11. Cook With Honey [Side 1]

12. So Begins The Task

13. Fisherman Song

14. The Dealer (Down And Losin')

15. Secret Gardens

Tracks 11 to 15 are Side 1 of the album "True Stories And Other Dreams" - released January 1973 in the USA on Elektra EKS 75053 and February 1973 in the UK on Elektra K 42132 as "True Stories".

CD2 (65:30 minutes):

1. Holly Ann

2. The Hostage

3. Song For Martin

4. Che

Tracks 1 to 4 are Side 2 of the album "True Stories And Other Dreams" - released January 1973 in the USA on Elektra EKS 75053 and February 1973 in the UK on Elektra K 42132 as "True Stories".

5. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress [Side 1]

6. Angel, Spread Your Wings

7. Houses

8. The Lovin' Of The Game

9. Song For Duke

10. Send In The Clowns

11. Salt Of The Earth [Side 2]

12. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime

13. City Of New Orleans

14. I'll Be Seeing You

15. Pirate Ships

16. Born To The Breed

Tracks 5 to 16 are the album "Judith" - released March 1975 in the USA on Elektra Records 7E-1032 and May 1975 in the UK on Elektra Records K 52019.

The card slipcase gives these BGO reissues a classy and luxurious feel whilst the 24-page booklet repro's all the album artwork including the lyrics for the "Judith" LP alongside new liner notes from noted writer and Music historian JOHN TOBLER. Releasing sixteen albums that reached the US charts between 1964 and 1982 alone (her career started in 1961) - Tobler is right to call Collins that most overused word - a legend. His notes go into her entire career so you don't actually get to the albums on hand until the last few pages, but its a fascinating read potted with loads of great observations and details.

But the big news has to be the new 2018 ANDREW THOMPSON remasters which make these already beautifully produced platters shine better than ever before. 

Her own tunes like "Fishermen Song" or "Secret Gardens" or the November 1971 single "Open The Door (Song For Judith)" flipped with her adaptation of a W.B. Yates poem put to music in "Innisfree" show her skills of a songwriter (it preceded the "Living" album on both sides of the pond). And as I rehear Joni's "Chelsea Morning", Jim Webb's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", Leonard Cohen's "Joan Of Arc" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" or Stephen Stills' "So Begins The Task" - all sat alongside Tom Paxton's "The Hostage", Danny O'Keefe's "Angel, Spread Your Wings" and even The Stones in "Salt Of The Earth" - you're also reminded of her uncanny ear for a tune - Judy Collins with her nose to the ground - covering contemporary songs of the day that would have legs long past their recent release dates. The three albums all sound great, lively and full of instrumentation filling your speakers - a very nice job done...

Beat Goes On have gotten awfully good at this sort of release and outside of an all-encompassing Rhino box set of her entire Elektra Records catalogue (something WEA artists like Joni Mitchell, Ry Cooder, Little Feat and America have all enjoyed) - BGO of England has provided Judy Collins fans with a steady stream of decent Remasters in quality presentation - and this you have to say is another winner. Tasty and then some...