20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Joan Baez

1	Diamonds and Rust 4:44
2	Fountain of Sorrow 4:28
3	Love Song to a Stranger 3:49
4	Hello in There 3:03
5	Dida 3:25
6	Jesse 4:19
7	In the Quiet Morning 2:54
8	Gracias a la Vida 3:33
9	Children and All That Jazz 3:07
10	Forever Young 3:36
11	The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Live 3:39

Barnes & Noble

Eleven tracks from Joan Baez's five-year stint with A&M records in the 1970s comprise this collection, part of the label's Millennium Master series. It's not Baez the folk queen here, nor quite Baez the matriarch of political protest that she became in the following decade. This is Baez the songwriter, chronicling her bittersweet relationship with Dylan in "Diamonds and Rust," enjoying the sheer joy of sound in an almost wordless duet with Joni Mitchell in "Dida," and capturing the hectic rush of motherhood in "Children and All That Jazz." Several of Baez's best and most enduring covers of contemporary writers are featured, including the title track of her underappreciated Spanish language album, "Gracias a la Vida," a lovely treatment of Jackson Browne's "Fountain of Sorrow," and her top-five single of Robbie Robertson's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Not the whole of Baez's career, certainly, but a vivid snapshot of many of its most personal moments. --Kerry Dexter

All Music Guide

It may not be a definitive collection -- after all, it bypasses all of her influential '60s recordings -- but the Joan Baez installment of 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection is a good overview of her recordings for A&M, featuring such highlights as "Diamonds and Rust," "Fountain of Sorrow," "Hello in There," "Dida," "Jesse," "In the Quiet Morning," "Gracias a la Vida," "Forever Young," and a live version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." There may be some good songs missing, but this isn't a bad choice for budget-minded casual fans. Stephen Thomas Erlewine