Recorded live between August 1962 and November 1963. Originally released on Vanguard (9112). Includes liner notes by Maynard Solomon and Arthur Levy. The ‘queen of folk’ was an accomplished live performer as this, the first of two In Concert albums proved. Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, Baez brought her pure, virginal soprano to contrasting material. Her interpretations of Childe ballads ‘Matty Groves’ and ‘The House Carpenter’ are particularly moving, but an empathy with American folklore, including Woody Guthrie and the Carter Family, is equally apparent. Baez's reading of Malvina Reynolds' protest song, ‘What Have They Done To The Rain’, is especially arresting and inspired a later pop hit for the Searchers. This album helped take folk music out of the coffee-house circuit and into national consciousness. Assembled from Joan's nationwide tour of Autumn 1961 through to the Spring of 1962, Joan Baez In Concert showcased the wide variety of material that Joan featured in her show, ranging from gospel (Gospel Ship), blues (Babe I'm Gonna Leave You), message songs (What have They Done To The Rain) to African traditional (Kumbaya) through to Brazilian love songs (Ate Amanha, which is sung in Portuguese throughout). It was Joan's version of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You that brought the song to Led Zeppelin's at­tention, although their version would end up entirely different from Joan's! All tracks have been digitally remastered. This is part of Vanguard Records Original Masters Series.

Review:

Originally released in 1962, In Concert, Pt. 1 captures the undisputed queen of folk music at the onset of her fabled career. Featuring 20-bit remastering from the original analog tapes, exact replicas of the original artwork and liner notes, previously unreleased cuts, and additional liner notes, this installment of Vanguard's Original Master Series is a historic collection of contemporary and traditional folk. Though Baez was reportedly suffering from stage fright at the time of these recordings, which were cobbled from the fall of 1961 to the spring of 1962, her delivery is crystal clear and confident. The exhaustive selection of material represents her diverse influences, most notably African tradition (“Kumbaya”), gospel (“Gospel Ship”), negro spiritual (“My Lord What a Morning”), West African (“Danger Waters”), Brazilian (“Ate Amanha,” which is sung in Portuguese), and blues (“Babe I'm Gonna Leave You”), Baez's performances still retain freshness and vitality after four decades.
All Music Guide – Tom Semioli