(This review first appeared in issue 60 of Shindig! magazine.)
BGO
CD
This three album
compilation, remastered and repackaged as a 2CD set, covers the years
1967-1971 and showcases Collins' transformation from collegiate
folk-boom survivor into baroque-folk interpreter of the great
contemporary songbook. Most of the tracks here are drawn from
songwriting heavyweights; Dylan, Cohen, Baez, Seeger, Newman,
Mitchell, The Beatles and Donovan all get a look in, along with Brel,
Brecht and Behan. Collins' self-penned songs and her take on
traditional tunes hold their own however, finely balanced between
introspection and melodrama.
In My Life is
artistically the most successful in part due to its reliance on big
songs. Wildflowers is more idiosyncratic and beguiling, in
many ways a braver statement. Whales & Nightingales is
notable for the hit single 'Amazing Grace', a partial return to
traditional folk material and the album's environmental themes as
shown on whaling song 'Farewell To Tarwathie' which features the
recording of a humpback whale as backing.
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