[2 articles] Baez still fiery 50 years later
http://www.canada.com/entertainment/books/Baez+still+fiery+years+later/1426576/story.html By Heath McCoy, Canwest News Service March 25, 2009 It's striking, at first, to hear Joan Baez describe somebody as being "a little left" of her. The woman is, after all, a leading voice of the American folk music revival of the late 1950s -- a movement firmly ingrained in socialist politics. Baez is sure to go down as an icon of the left wing. An unrelenting peace activist and antiwar protester, she took on the war in Iraq with the same righteous passion that she brought to the table when protesting the Vietnam War decades before. She has also been a fervent campaigner of civil liberties and gay and lesbian rights, as well as a dedicated environmentalist and an anti-death penalty activist. The Mexican-American singer is synonymous with our picture of the proverbial folkie at the protest rally. So when Baez, 68, describes politically crusading singer-songwriter Steve Earle -- who produced her latest album Day After Tomorrow -- as being "a little tiny bit to the left of me," that's a comment that leaps up and announces itself. "I call him Mr. Pinko and he likes that," she jokes. Many would assume Baez might have seniority over Earle in that department. Not so, suggests Baez in an interview in advance of her three Canadian tour dates. "That's a bit of a misconception because I've done things on 'the other side' with just as much fervour," says Baez. "But it's easier to pigeonhole somebody than it is to stretch the imagination." Indeed, Baez has fallen seriously out of favour with the political left at a few points in her career. In 1989 she supported Vaclav Havel, who was to become the president of the Czech Republic, when Havel worked to topple the oppressive communist regime in his country. Baez had also denounced the government of communist Vietnam for its human rights violations a decade earlier, a move that drew harsh criticism from the left. Among those criticisms was an attack in the media from actress-activist Jane Fonda. Baez remembers it all very well. "You know, (Fonda) did rash things when she was young and she got criticized for what she did, too," Baez says. "She and I met the other day for the first time in many years with a big, tearful embrace because I know she meant absolutely well with what she did." Indeed, Baez says she's never publicly endorsed an American politician of any stripe -- "I've never trusted them," she states -- until recently. During the 2008 U.S presidential election, she wrote a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle in support of Barack Obama. But even that she offers with one big qualification. "I have no expectations, no illusions that Obama will do everything right," Baez says. "I mean, I'm a pacifist and he's the commander in chief of the army, navy and air force." However, Baez has much hope for Obama, even comparing him to Martin Luther King Jr., whom she supported and called a friend. Baez is excited by the success of her latest release, with Day After Tomorrow being her highest charting album in nearly three decades. The disc, which marked Baez's 50th year as a performer, also earned her a Grammy nomination for best contemporary folk album. Along with compositions from Earle, the record also finds Baez covering songs from such acclaimed songwriters as Tom Waits, T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello. This continues a Baez tradition that goes back to her first album. Baez made her musical reputation as a skilled interpreter of other artists' songs. Throughout her career she has taken on tunes by everybody from her old flame Bob Dylan, to Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, the Allman Brothers and the Rolling Stones. Because she has so firmly established herself an a gifted interpreter, it's sometimes easy to forget that Baez has also proved her worth as a songwriter in the past. But that's a skill she hasn't employed in quite some time. "I stopped writing about 15 years ago," she says. "I don't really know why I stopped. If it started again for me I'd be delighted but if that doesn't come to the forefront it doesn't bother me. I have all these other people and all their great material." -------- Baez belts old and new ballads with ageless bravado http://www.montanakaimin.com/index.php/arts/arts_article/baez_belts_old_and_new_ballads_with_ageless_bravado/3636 Story by Jeff Osteen Montana Kaimin March 27, 2009 After all these years, folk icon Joan Baez still has the same smile. Her hair is short, she dresses hip and she unmistakably revels in the microphone. Baez took the stage Tuesday evening for a packed University Theatre during her international tour in support of her 24th studio album, "Day After Tomorrow." The album, recorded in Nashville and released in 2008, is her first to chart on the Billboard 200 in 29 years and was also nominated for a Grammy Award. Themes of hope and homecoming pepper "Day After Tomorrow," a title based on the Tom Waits song, which Baez performs on the album. The lights dimmed. Baez casually sauntered out to a late applause, as if the audience didn't immediately recognize her. She opened with the traditional song "Lily of the West," which she recorded for her second album in 1961 when she was 20 years old. As she spoke, the audience got reacquainted with the woman who has been an adamant voice for the protections of civil rights and free speech since 1959. "We have many decades to traverse," she said before jumping through her career's repertoire and rolling into "Scarlett Tide," the Academy Award- and Grammy Award-nominated song from her latest album. An acoustic trio backed Baez using, by turns, bass, banjo, mandolin and fiddle. Together, they had a bluegrass sound, occasionally breaking into three-part harmonies. The album was produced by American roots artist Steve Earle. "Steve writes these things in 24 hours, which pisses me off," Baez said before beginning "I Am a Wanderer," one of several songs found on the album penned by Earle. With that, the band exited the stage and Joan picked up a bright red teacup with white polka dots. She took a sip and began a story about a poetry reading in which she was asked to participate. "They wanted me to read somebody else's poem," she said, "and I said no, I want to read my own." Laughter bounced from the crowd. She picked up a few pieces of paper from the stage near her feet and began reading two poems entitled "Vivian" and "Low, Low Impact Class" to roaring applause. Before the crowd could hush their hurrahs, she began belting out "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" a capella. At 68 years old, with a voice that is a little bit aged and has less air behind it, Baez can still hit those notes. A man outside the show later said, "It's mature, not a crystal clear bell, but still ... ." She picked up her guitar again and gave an introductory anecdote about weddings. She said her parents were divorced for 30 years. But when her father was 91 years old, he wrote her mother a letter to tell her that he was dying, he wanted to die married and she was the only one he wanted to be married to. Baez said her mother replied, "What the hell," and they were remarried. She then presented her next song as one she sang at their second wedding. "Forever Young," was the first song of the evening, written by Bob Dylan. Baez has spent much of her early career alongside Dylan, after introducing him to the world in 1963. Baez left the stage to a roaring crowd and soon returned, band in tow. After playing the traditional "Long Black Veil," she launched into the second Dylan tune of the night "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," and included a Dylan impersonation at the end of the song that sent the audience into another fit of laughter. "I knew you were cool," she said. She thanked the audience for sharing the evening and, still beaming with a youthful countenance, though a little slower in her steps, Baez walked the stage and bowed several times to the standing ovation. The evening ended with a sing-a-long version of the John Lennon masterpiece, "Imagine." -- [email protected] . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. 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