Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins

To the reviewer who said Dolly Parton's performance was too cutesy...it IS a cutesy song! It's not a sad ballad with a hidden political message! It's about a happy fisherman with a simple life.

Who else to sing this happy, simple song??? None other than the great, happy and cute, Dolly Parton!!! Even Judy performed this song on Sesame Street with THE MUPPETS! Look it up on YouTube.

Now go dock your bitter boat, and take your happy fisherman valiums.

I got this CD for my wife because she loves Judy Collins. We played it for the first time yesterday and it was a disappointment. I kept hoping the next song would be better but there was nothing that came close to what JC had done herself. Stick with the original!

Doing a tribute album is always a dicey undertaking and works best, if at all, when one singer does all the songs and has a much better voice than the writer/singer whose music he or she is performing. Judy Collins' tribute albums to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen come to mind as good examples of a performer who sings far better than Dylan or Cohen ever will. The chief problem with this CD of songs written by Ms. Collins and sung by several individuals is that with the exception of Joan Baez, Ms. Collins' voice is so much better than the contributors here. Shawn Colvin's rendition of "Secret Gardens," a beautiful nostalgic song about childhood, growing up and growing old, gets this CD started off with a less than auspicious beginning. Her voice is simply not very pleasing. Dolly Parton's version of "Fisherman's Song" is far too cutesy; Ms. Parton certainly knows better. One of the most moving things Ms. Collins has ever written is "My Father." The only other singer who does it justice is Nina Simone. Practically everybody else should leave it to Ms. Collins. She accompanies herself on the piano in her haunting version of this song. I kept hearing her delicate filigree in contrast to the loud accompanying piano cords on this arrangement. I could see someone like Rene Fleming recording "My Father." It is such a classy song. I have been humming the anthem "Che" since listening to James Mudriczki, but I do not hear his voice. I hear Judy's. The accompaniment is way too loud and drowns out the singer.

There are two really fine surprises here. Leonard Cohen reads rather than sings "Since You've Asked." His beautifully resonant bass voice is perfect for reading poetry. The best work by far here is Rufus Wainwright's singing of "Albatross" as he has a dialogue with a cello and piano accompaniment that is beautiful beyond description.

Hearing these fine songs written by Ms. Colllins made me want to dig out all my CD's and LP's and hear her sing them once again. She should produce a CD of her singing only her songs as she has done for Cohen, Dylan and the Beatles. Now that would be a musical treasure.

This is a splendid compilation of Collins' songs, sung by some of the most evocative singer/songwriters of any generation. It shines with all the love, joy, ache and vivid imagery of Judy's best storytelling. Somehow, hearing these song/stories sung by other voices reminds us of the universality that Collins brings to her finely crafted poetry.

With the likes of Shawn Colvin, Joan Baez, Dar Williams and Dolly Parton on hand to sing these songs, bringing them to life and illuminating the slices of life they contain, you might think of this as a 'woman's collection' of music---but then you hear the pure, aching depth of feeling that Jim Lauderdale and Rufus Wainwright bring to the songs they sing, and you're struck by how easily Judy's music crosses the lines of gender and experience.

And just when I thought that the songs here could be no more sublime, Kenny White brings a quiet elegance to 'Song for Martin' and Leonard Cohen does a simple lyric reading of 'Since You've Asked' that puts the fine point on just what a true poet Collins is.

And thankfully, unlike so many 'Tribute' CD's of some artists' music---like Joni Mitchell, et al---that gets reinterpreted, reworked and re-invented by other artists, this collection feels like a perfectly respectful balance of Judy's intent with her songs and the new perspective and talents of the artists who make them their own.

Enjoy this wonderful collection of Judy's songs sung by singers and friends that truly understand the meaning she weaves into her poetry and melodies!

Let me preface this with my bias -- I absolutely adore Judy Collins and think that her original songs rank among the greatest material ever produced by a singer/songwriter. I was very excited to hear about this project and greatly looked forward to hearing these wonderful songs interpreted by such a wide array of artists.

The reality is, however, that this is a tribute album. Like all tribute albums, it is uneven. Some performances are better than others, and some artists appeal to me while others don't. Unlike most tribute albums, this one is pretty good overall -- chalk that up to the quality of the songs.

Particularly good, in my opinion, are the performances by Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams, Rufus Wainwright and Bernadette Peters. These interpretations are true to the artists' own styles, giving the songs a real authenticity. Also good, but not great, are the performances by Dolly Parton, Jimmy Webb and Joan Baez. Unfortunately, in these cases, I wish these artists had recorded the songs a few years back, as each of them is not sounding as good as they did in years past. (I haven't listened to any Dolly Parton releases in a number of years, and I was surprised how much her pure soprano voice has turned husky, to be honest.)

Two pleasant surprises here were James Mudriczki's "Che," with its electronica/club feel, and Leonard Cohen's spoken rendition of "Since You've Asked." Both were completely unexpected, and yet delightful and compelling.

Of the remaining songs, most aren't bad, but they didn't grab me the way the above songs did. There's certainly a wide range of styles and arrangements represented here.

Any fan of Judy Collins or of any of these performers will find something to like here -- you can't go wrong with this one.