Memento. (Joan and the rusty diamonds)

I think, I'm not telling much newness for a so much people if I say there is a book, that tells which albums you must have to listen, before you will go away from this world. At last week, when I've explored the library, I found this book and I've started to turn over the pages and at the beginning there was a page, about the first album of Joan Baez. I didn't know anything about her, I didn't know who is this girl really is (in that time she was girlier of course :D ), but I don't know why, I wrote down her name in my Molsekine, in order to, than I could look after her later, and see what she know actually.

1960. I didn't heard her ominous very first album until this time, which released in this year (this was that which I was reading about in the book) and which owns the artist's name as album title, but I've listened to the compalition called "Greatest Hits", released in 2004 and on the second place on this disc, there was the song called, "Diamonds & Rust". As the statistics of iTunes and Wikipedia said, probably this is the most popular piece of Joan and thats why I was looking for this album. I loved the first 30 seconds of it, that I've heard on iTunes.

15 years later: Diamonds & Rust. The fascinating voices of Joan's acoustic guitar are sounding even now into my ears. So beautiful recording, mostly in the beginning of the song, where you can hear crystal-clearly how is she – really – twanging on the guitar and how is she pulling hear fingers on the scratchy, creaky strings. She's playing on the guitar so close to the listener and she singing so close to you too, and that makes the song so familiar, which is a really rare thing as I think. And mostly because, she is telling a story. She's singing a story. For you. On sweet, tender voice. Just under your nose. And it makes the song even more confidental. The melodies are soft, engaging, a litle bit melancholic, a little bit contemplative. And the lyrics are so interesting, mostly how the "images" coming out from the song. How the reality and the fantasy blending together:

"Here comes your ghost again [...] the moon is full [...] And here I sit, Hand on the telephone"

Or how the memories appears. The little things, which means so lot than you thought about that.

"Ten years ago I bought you some cufflinks [...] We both know what memories can bring"

And soon, a little bit later, these memories are going to be blended with the fantasy-reality images when Joan sings about the autumn, the snow and the memories of the hotel:

"brown leaves falling around, And snow in your hair [...] Now you're smiling out the window of that crummy hotel, Over Washington Square [...] Our breath comes out white clouds"

I think, this is the song of calm, meditative evenings, when you're sitting with a mug of hot tea in your hands, with headphones on your head and you are clearing everything, every single thought from yourself and you're concentrating only on the sounds of the strings and on the incredible voice of Joan. In my opinion, this piece is what you must not miss.

DIAMONDS & RUST

Joan Baez – Diamonds & Rust (1975)