Judy Collins - Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, 13/1/2023

  by Lisa Torem

published: 26 / 4 / 2023

On a cold, but clear Friday night at Mauer Hall at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Judy Collins entertained fans with a handful of songs from her most recent and totally original album, ‘Spellbound,’ but she also included classics made famous over her six-decade career. Superfans may already know that when the young singer heard Mitchell croon the ballad, ‘Both Sides Now’ a cappella style over the phone, she was immediately smitten. The song has become iconic since the sixties and a welcome and expected number. Collins mentioned her close relationship with the songwriter of ‘Someday Soon’ recorded by Ian and Sylvia. This arrangement was decidedly more blues-based and up tempo. Then, the team slowed the pace for the Stephen Sondheim gem, ‘Send in the Clowns,’ from ‘A Little Night Music,’ featuring a legato introduction, followed by flowing chords—it was just Collins and the pianist for this virtuosic class, which, in Collins’s capable hands turned platinum. The coming-of- age ballad, ‘When I Was a Girl in Colorado’ reinforced the hunch that her intention was to share her vivid past with grace and humility. Collins did spend considerable time in Colorado, breaking into the music scene there prior to relocating to the East Coast. In contrast, were the more palpable, ‘Hell on Wheels’ and image-rich ‘Prairie Dream.’ The melodies were peppered with beautiful lyrics, such as: “Canyons through the wind-blown grass” and allusions of “Sundown and sunset.” Collins hit the highs and the lows. Initially, Collins did cover material until songwriter Leonard Cohen coaxed her into penning her own tunes. The octogenarian’s voice grew soft as she talked about the plight of the Native American population and relayed memories of her radio broadcaster father, who eventually lost his sense of sight, but had developed a keen sensitivity to familiar and fleeting sounds in nature. “He had just discovered his radar. He talked about the Nez Pierce,” she pointed out in “My ode to the American Indian.” The subtle instrumentation was supplied by local pianist Stu Mindeman and Thad DeBrock, who switched competently from pedal steel to conventional guitar. There were a few times when Collins needed assistance, including better lighting on the grand, and when her sheet music slipped off the stand, but she handled both unexpected episodes with the resilience of a true professional. Later in the set, under a subdued spotlight, the Grammy winner, herself, switched from acoustic guitar to piano. “How are you,” she asked, downstage, now sitting catty corner to a vase of long-stemmed, blood-red roses. She brought forth another scenic wonder ‘Grand Canyon’ and the poetic, nostalgic ‘We Were So Alive.’ In another moment of vulnerability, she uttered the phrase, “When I fell in love with you, I was the last to know.” But perhaps Collins’s most enduring statement this evening was that she was keeping the “Diversity of the folk musical revival alive.” Truer words have rarely been spoken, for she was, in fact, at the epicenter of the first wave of this essential movement, which took place in Greenwich Village in New York City, spawning acts including the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton. Since that time, she has engaged in remarkable collaborations with Ari Hest, Michael McDonald and Don McLean. Collins wore a long, plush gown. Her historically long hair was cut into a stylish, silvery bob, but the eyes, commemorated in the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young classic, ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ (Stephen Stills based the lyric on a strong attraction to the folk singer) imbued a memorable sparkle. For the closing song, Collins invited the audience to sing along to the multi-versed, strophic hymn, ‘Amazing Grace.’ But first, she described the song as “among the oldest of the songs that we’ve played tonight.” There would be no encore for this generous ninety-minute show, for which there had been no intermission or support act, but perhaps an encore would have broken the spell—Collins’s version of ‘Amazing Grace,’ part of the great American folk music pantheon, is featured in the sound recording section of the Library of Congress. The warmth that resonated from the hall visibly left the audience sated. If American folk music has a Grande Dame, Judy Collins arguably fits the description, no holds barred.

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