Judy Collins' musical ambitions often seemed to be a bit broader (and her style a shade more theatrical) than most of her contemporaries on the East Coast folk scene of the early '60s, and with her sixth album, 1966's
In My Life, she made a clear break from interpreting the favorites of the singer/songwriter community into a broader and more eclectic style. While
In My Life includes songs by
Bob Dylan,
Richard Fariña, and (gulp)
Donovan, it also finds
Collins embracing the work of
Jacques Brel and
Kurt Weill, as well as
the Beatles and
Leonard Cohen (whose "Suzanne" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag" sound more at home with the Europeans than the New Yorkers).
Joshua Rifkin's arrangements abandon folky purity, not an uncommon event in the post-
Highway 61 Revisited musical economy, but rather than embracing rock & roll in one of its many forms, here
Rifkin's backdrops betray a significantly artier approach, with the opening
Dylan cover accompanied by flutes and
Fariña's "Hard Lovin' Loser" backed with a harpsichord, neither of which is especially effective. Far more successful are the European theatrical tunes, especially "Marat/Sade," in which
Collins delivers a superbly controlled, but passionate, performance, and a splendidly spare rendition of "Suzanne" that ranks with the finest interpretations of that oft-covered tune.
Collins also sounds splendid on
Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and even finds something special in
Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street."
Judy Collins was already an accomplished interpretive singer before recording this album, but
In My Life found her widening her horizons and revealing an even greater gift than one might have imagined; for the most part, it's a superb album and still one of her best. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide