"...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...
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...
