Joan Baez reissues on Vanguard

In the last year Vanguard has reissued several early Joan Baez albums, complete with bonus tracks and new liner notes. Can anybody give a review of the sound quality on these?

I'm particularly interested in her self-titled first album, the two In Concert volumes, and Noël.

 

C'mon, now...I can't believe there isn't somebody here with at least one of these CDs.

 

Maybe more like Britney or Cher, less like Frampton. The kids love it!

 

I own the first two albums remastered on Vanguard. I have absolutely no point of reference for these since I bought them without having previously heard the tracks (I only owned her Greatest Hits on A&M, i.e. her later years.)

They sure sound good to me. Nothing spectacular but certainly good for how old they are. Even when she sings loudly, the sound is very clear. I notice a bit of movement in her voice, e.g. it seems to pan back and forth a bit during some tracks. I've also noticed a 'blip' here and there that I can only assume are from the original tapes. Note: I'm far from an audiophile, so you may want to find some more reviews before you buy.

I would probably pick up some more of these if I could find them for less money. Maybe I'll grab Noel around Xmas time.

 

With Christmas coming up the local Borders has a discount on holiday music, so I went ahead and bought the remastered Noël. Bad news.

From the liner notes:
Engineered for release by Jeff Zaraya from the original analog tapes, converted to 20-bit digital audio using the DCS 904. Sonic Solutions software was used to process the digital audio. The bass that was rolled off the original vinyl release has been restored. The final CD was turbo bit mapped.

 

Anybody here remember the National Lampoon Baez parody? I won't mention the title out of political correctness; it was on the Radio Dinner album. Absolutely priceless.

Except for the Diamonds And Rust album, I do not own any Baez, and this is something that should be rectified. A great talent, IMO.

 

I remember it. Let's pass over that, shall we? It was quite funny but totally politically incorrect, especially taken out of context.


I've heard some wonderful Joan Baez LP's on the original Vanguard label. I have a greatest hits (2 LP set with picture book) from the 1970's that sounds really wonderful.

 

What's really odd is that the bonus tracks on the new disc have noticeable hiss on them. It's like they were left alone while the album proper was processed, which is utterly ridiculous if that is indeed what happened.

 

The MFSL "Diamonds And Rust" is a real keeper.

 

Can't put my hands on it right now, but I did get
the newer Vanguard issue of Baez at Newport. It
does sound very good, considering the concert setting,
which had some mic placement problems. There are a
couple of tracks where she really pegs the PA system
and you can hear the ambient echo decay--I love this
kind of stuff, really puts you there! Included are
two (I think) duets with Dylan, whom she was helping
promote at the time. If you like early Baez you'll
like this one.

--Roger

 

Re: Re: Joan Baez reissues on Vanguard

That's the new Vanguard way. The 2000 Ian and Sylvia comp. has the same schpiel.
BEFORE I joined the forum, I thought this CD sounded way better than the old one I used to play. There IS much more bass, less hiss etc. I could not undertstand why I didn't enjoy listening to it though.........
NOW I'm a new (and sadder) man

 

Not really sadder - I have since returned many of my old dusty CD's into circulation. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Shame about Vanguard though.