Joan Baez

Like its predecessor, Joan Baez in Concert, Pt. 1, this live album was a huge success, making the Top Ten. However, though it was recorded not long after Joan Baez in Concert, Pt. 1 and is also a live album on which the only accompaniment is her own acoustic guitar, it's not merely a second set of recordings of similar material. Her repertoire was evolving from purely traditional folk to encompass significant work by contemporary folksinger/songwriters. Most prominent among those, of course, was Bob Dylan, and In Concert, Pt. 2 features her first two Dylan covers, "With God on Our Side" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." For that alone the album was notable, but there were other notable expansions into interesting new territory, like the country classic "Long Black Veil," Derroll Adams' great melancholy "Portland Town," the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," and bossa nova great Luiz Bonfa's "Manha de Carnaval." Baez's growth was not so radical as to alienate any of her folk followers, and the album still featured several traditional folk songs of the sort that had launched her career, like "Once I Had a Sweetheart" and "Jackaroe." The introduction of less-hidebound excursions, though, did much to lighten her approach and keep her from falling into too much of a maiden-of-constant-sorrow rut. The 2002 CD reissue adds lengthy historical liner notes and five bonus tracks. Two of those, "Rambler Gambler" and "Railroad Bill," were featured on the original pressing of the LP before being replaced by "With God on Our Side"; this marks the first appearance of "Railroad Bill" on CD. The remaining three are previously unreleased 1963 concert recordings, including Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time," the traditional "When First Unto This Country a Stranger I Came," and "Death of Emmett Till." The last of those, intriguingly, is an entirely different song than the early Bob Dylan composition named "The Death of Emmett Till"; this song was written by A.C. Bilbrew and originally recorded by the Ramparts. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide