Joan Baez Essentials

Joan Baez is a voice of rare beauty. But she was no wimpy, boring folkie. Sure, she took on songs that were extremely personal and vulnerable, but Baez could draw darkness, tenderness, and so much emotion from them. She takes The Band's “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”—a song about a bitter Confederate soldier after the Civil War—and finds in it a real sense of loss. And then she deepens Dylan's “Forever Young” with even more generosity and sadness. Baez wrote some gems herself—“Diamonds and Rust” is a heartfelt exploration about what's wrapped up in memories—but it's in those interpretations of others' tunes where her talents come brilliantly to life.