A brand-new album of 13 original songs, two years in the making, ably assisted on harmonies and acoustic guitar by Ari Hest, and 9 other crack musicians. Judy plays the main piano on all tracks but one (12 string acoustic).
Reviews have been unanimously stellar; she is in terrific voice, comparable to the ’60s albums. The songs are uniformly strong to excellent; no weak cuts. The use of echo is outstanding and her voice has never been better: ethereal, soft, and warm throughout the album.
Each song is a moment of being from her storied life, rendered in precise poetic imagery and rhyme (she uses 4-line stanzas). She tells about her alcoholism demons, her many love affairs, her Greenwich Village days, her Colorado youth, the beauty of Hawaii, a near-tragic driving incident (done as a rocker), the celebrated Catholic Trappist monk Thomas Merton’s death, the paintings of the English Romantic artist Turner, her T.B. episode in Arizona, an indigenous reservation, and a Colorado blizzard in the mountains.
Spellbound is easily her best, most complete album since her late 1960s Wildflowers and Who Knows Where the Time Goes LPs. It is a profoundly soulful and spirited tour de force from beginning to end, lyrically and musically. I would not be surprised if she wins a Grammy later this year for a totally unexpected artistic success at the improbable ripe age of 82. Highly recommended for fans and all folkies.
And, incidentally and amazingly, she is already on an international tour all this year. (Sadly, no Canada dates so far.)