''Blowin' Away'' is the eighteenth studio album (and twentieth overall) by
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
, released in 1977. It was her first after switching from
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
to
Portrait Records
Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Notable artists Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered.
History ...
(a then newly created division of CBS Records).
Overview
The album veered more toward mainstream pop than any album Baez had recorded up to that point, though many critics at the time pointed out that she seemed not entirely comfortable with her "new sound". Among the songs covered were the
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
hit "Sailing", and the standard "
Cry Me a River", in addition to a number of Baez' own compositions. The sardonic "Time Rag" recounts an aborted attempt at an interview by a ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine reporter. Throughout the course of the song, she admits that studio executives wanted to spruce up her image to ensure that she'd once again sell well. "I really should tell you that deep in my heart/I don't give a damn where I stand on the charts", she wryly comments toward the song's closing.
From "Time Rag":
"Curious about his interest,
I babbled my way through the worldwide list;
Ireland, Chile and the African states;
Poetry, politics and how they relate;
Motherhood, music and Moog synthesizers;
Political prisoners and Commie sympathizers;
Hetero, homo and bisexuality;
Where they all stand in the nineteen-seventies."
Baez wrote "Altar Boy and the Thief" as a tribute to her gay fanbase.
In her autobiography, "And a Voice to Sing With", Baez described ''Blowin' Away'' as "a good album with a terrible cover".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Joan Baez; except where indicated
# "
Sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
" (
Gavin Sutherland) – 4:22
# "Many a Mile to Freedom" (
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
, Anna Capaldi) – 2:58
# "Miracles" – 5:24
# "Yellow Coat" (
Steve Goodman
Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many others including John Denver, ...
) – 3:37
# "Time Rag" – 5:25
# "A Heartfelt Line or Two" – 3:23
# "I'm Blowin' Away" (
Eric Kaz
Eric Justin Kaz (born January 21, 1946)
is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. Besides his solo work, Kaz was a member of Blues Magoos for their fourth and fifth albums, ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' and ''Gulf Coast Bound ...
) – 3:18
# "Luba the Baroness" – 7:06
# "Altar Boy and the Thief" – 3:28
# "
Cry Me a River" (Arthur Hamilton) – 3:00
Personnel
* Joan Baez – Guitar, Vocals
* Bernard Gelb – Executive Producer
* David Kershenbaum – Producer
* String arrangements - Tom Scott
* Drums - Mike Botts, Rick Shlosser
* Bass - Duck Dunn, Wilton Felder
* Electric guitars - Elliot Randall, Dean Parks
* Keyboards - Larry Knechtel, Joe Sample
* Acoustic guitar - Elliott Randall
* Percussion - Mike Botts
* Steel guitar - Jeff Baxter
* Violin, Mandolin, Steel guitar - David Mansfield
References
* Baez, Joan. 1987. And a Voice to Sing With: A Memoir. Century Hutchinson, London.
{{Authority control
1977 albums
Joan Baez albums
Portrait Records albums
Albums produced by David Kershenbaum