Diamonds & Rust
Encyclopedia
Diamonds & Rust is a 1975 album by Joan Baez
. Baez is often regarded as an interpreter of other people's work, and on this album she covered songs by Bob Dylan
, Stevie Wonder
, The Allman Brothers, and Jackson Browne
. But Diamonds & Rust also contained a number of her own compositions, including the acclaimed title track, a haunting song written about Bob Dylan.
The title track was covered by British heavy metal
band Judas Priest
on their 1977 album Sin After Sin
, and has since been one of their concert staple songs. Anglo-American Renaissance-Rock band Blackmore's Night
covered the song on their 2003 album Ghost of a Rose
. Finnish power metal band Thunderstone
covered the song on their 2004 album The Burning
.
On her cover of Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate
", one verse features Baez attempting a good-humoured impersonation of the song's composer.
An alternate recording of "Dida" had appeared on the previous year's Gracias A la Vida. The Diamonds & Rust recording of the song was more uptempo and featured duet vocals by Joni Mitchell
.
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
. Baez is often regarded as an interpreter of other people's work, and on this album she covered songs by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, The Allman Brothers, and Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
. But Diamonds & Rust also contained a number of her own compositions, including the acclaimed title track, a haunting song written about Bob Dylan.
The title track was covered by British heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
on their 1977 album Sin After Sin
Sin After Sin
Sin After Sin is the third album by British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1977. It was the band's first album on Columbia Records after their contract with Gull Records was terminated, as a consequence of which they lost all rights to Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny, and any...
, and has since been one of their concert staple songs. Anglo-American Renaissance-Rock band Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is an English-American traditional folk rock duo led by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night .-Early:...
covered the song on their 2003 album Ghost of a Rose
Ghost of a Rose
Ghost of a Rose is an album released in 2003 by Blackmore's Night, released through SPV/Steamhammer Records.In 2004 the album went Gold in the Czech Republic.-Track listing:Songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night, except where noted....
. Finnish power metal band Thunderstone
Thunderstone (band)
Thunderstone is a Power metal band from Helsinki, Finland. The band was formed in 2000 by guitarist Nino Laurenne, and the line-up became full the following year. After the release of the band's self-titled debut album, Thunderstone, the band toured Europe supporting Stratovarius and Symphony X...
covered the song on their 2004 album The Burning
The Burning (Thunderstone album)
The Burning is Finnish power metal band Thunderstone's second album.-Track listing:#"Until We Touch the Burning Sun" – 5:55 #"Break the Emotion" – 4:42 #"Mirror Never Lies" – 3:44 #"Tin Star Man" – 5:10 #"Spire" – 4:37...
.
On her cover of Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate
Simple Twist of Fate
"Simple Twist of Fate" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks in 1975.It was first covered by Joan Baez on Diamonds & Rust , and has been reinterpreted by several artists since: by the Jerry Garcia Band on their 2-disc live album Jerry Garcia Band and Run for...
", one verse features Baez attempting a good-humoured impersonation of the song's composer.
An alternate recording of "Dida" had appeared on the previous year's Gracias A la Vida. The Diamonds & Rust recording of the song was more uptempo and featured duet vocals by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
.
Track listing
- "Diamonds & RustDiamonds & Rust (song)"Diamonds & Rust" is a song written and performed by Joan Baez - it was released in 1975, but had been written the previous November.In the song, Baez recounts an out-of-the-blue phone call from an old lover, which sends her a decade back in time, to a "crummy" hotel in Greenwich Village; she...
" (Joan Baez) - "Fountain of Sorrow" (Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
) - "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in SummerNever Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" is a 1971 song by Stevie Wonder. It comes from his album Where I'm Coming From. The song is a ballad, describing a failed relationship using the metaphor of changing seasons...
" (Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Syreeta WrightSyreeta WrightSyreeta Wright , who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.-Early life and career:...
) - "Children and All That JazzChildren and All That Jazz (Joan Baez song)Children and All That Jazz is a song written and performed by singer/songwriter Joan Baez for her 1975 studio albumDiamonds & Rust...
" (Joan Baez) - "Simple Twist of FateSimple Twist of Fate"Simple Twist of Fate" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks in 1975.It was first covered by Joan Baez on Diamonds & Rust , and has been reinterpreted by several artists since: by the Jerry Garcia Band on their 2-disc live album Jerry Garcia Band and Run for...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) - "Blue SkyBlue Sky (song)"Blue Sky" is the eighth track by the Allman Brothers Band off the Eat a Peach album.Dickey Betts wrote this about his Native American girlfriend, Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig. And for a while, Betts refused to perform this after their 1975 divorce....
" (Dickey BettsDickey BettsForrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...
) - "Hello in There" (John PrineJohn PrineJohn Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
) - "Jesse" (Janis IanJanis IanJanis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century...
) - "Winds of the Old DaysWinds of the Old Days (song)Winds of the Old Days is a song written and performed by singer/songwriter Joan Baez for her 1975 studio album Diamonds & Rust....
" (Joan Baez) - "Dida" (duet with Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
) (Joan Baez) - MedleyMedley (music)In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
: "I Dream of JeannieJeanie with the Light Brown Hair"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1854. Foster wrote the song with his wife Jane McDowell in mind. "Jeanie" was a notorious beneficiary of the ASCAP boycott of 1941...
" (Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
) / "Danny BoyDanny Boy-Background:The words to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit the "Londonderry Air" in 1913, after his sister-in-law in the U.S. sent him a copy. Ernestine...
" (Frederick WeatherlyFrederick WeatherlyFrederic Edward Weatherly was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He is estimated to have written the lyrics to at least 3,000 popular songs, among the best-known of which are the sentimental ballad Danny Boy set to the tune Londonderry Air, the religious "The Holy City", and the...
)
Personnel
- Joan Baez – Guitar, Vocals, Producer
- Max BennettMax Bennett (musician)Max Bennett is an American jazz bassist and session musician.Bennett grew up in Kansas City and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa. His first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura...
– Bass - Rik Davis – Producer
- Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
- Drums - John GuerinJohn GuerinJohn Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
– Drums on Track 10 - Hampton Hawes – Keyboards
- Jim HornJim HornJim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
– Saxophone - David Kershenbaum – Producer
- Rick Lotempio – Guitar
- Rob Martens – Engineer, Post Production
- Ollie Mitchell – Trumpet
- Buck Monari – Trumpet
- David PaichDavid PaichDavid Frank Paich is a session musician, keyboard player, recording producer, arranger, vocalist and main composer of the Los Angeles-based rock/pop band Toto. David is the son of the late jazz composer, musician, and arranger Marty Paich...
– Keyboards - Jamie Putnam – Design
- Red RhodesRed RhodesRhodes played pedal steel on many country rock, pop and rock albums with The Monkees, James Taylor, Seals and Crofts, The Byrds, The Carpenters and many other groups. He is most often remembered for his work with former Monkee Michael Nesmith on Nesmith's first solo albums in the early 1970s...
– Steel Guitar - Ellis Sorkin – Assistant Engineer
- Will Spencer – Assistant Engineer
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Billboard 200 | 11 |