Bohemian

iTunes Review

It was the folk music world of the ‘60s that gave Judy Collins her first success, and she pays tribute to that era while further exploring a timeless adult contemporary art song that belongs to her alone. She’s immune to trends. Whether she’s working through Joni Mitchell’s “Cactus Tree” (with Shawn Colvin) or singing through “Pure Imagination” (a tune from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack), she brings her unique sensibility and sensitivity to bear. This album was mostly inspired by her recollections of the ‘60s Laurel Canyon scene, though the emotionally charged “In the Twilight” is a remembrance of her childhood and a tribute to her mother, who passed the previous year. As a peerless singer, Collins shows no signs of slowing or of age. Her voice is as clear and expressive on “Pastures of Plenty” as it would’ve been 50 years prior. Her cover of former Woodstock-based songwriter Michael Veitch’s “Veteran’s Day” is a brilliant distillation of her consistently relevant values and sentiments.