Judy Collins - Who Knows Where the Time Goes

By the time this 1967 title hit the racks, Judy Collins was earning a deserved reputation for having an ear for promising songwriters. The album's predecessor, In My Life, provided early exposure to a couple of young songsmiths named Leonard Cohen and Randy Newman. With Who Knows, the folkie princess turned her luminous gaze toward up-and-coming British folk-rockers Sandy Denny (who penned the title track) and the Incredible String Band's Robin Williamson ("First Boy I Loved"). Toss in the hit version of Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon," a couple more Cohen numbers ("Story of Isaac" and "Bird on a Wire"), and Collins's own "My Father," along with a crack crew of players (including Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Stills), and you have an estimable early singer-songwriter record. --Steven Stolder Amazon.com essential recording

Understanding Losses

This book offers support and understanding the loss of someone whether it be a suicide or natural caused death. Everyone experiences guilt in one way or another when we lose someone close to us. This books takes you through the 7 T's which is very helpful.... May 12, 2008

One of the best '60's albums in any genre

I recently gave a list of the best overall albums from that remarkably creative period from around 1965-1972 to a young person who has became very involved with the music of that era. This sentimental, touching and yet perfectly tight folk/country/rock album was in the top ten. I had just rediscovered it myself after almost 15 years between listens, and I was completely taken.

Judy Collins always had had a crystal clear voice, and a good range, but on this album it was at its most powerful. The material, as noted by others, is from the best-ever writers in this genre. And the session musicians include the drummer from the "Layla" album (Jim Gordon),the great country-rock guitar player featured on all those famous Rick Nelson- and also many Elvis- recordings (James Burton), one of the first true rock "superstars" (Steven Stills) and the original bass player for Graham Parson's Flying Burrito Brothers, among others.

The result is about the tightest folk-style rock album there ever was, with a fine range of sentimental and yet gripping songs. I am particularly taken with "First Boy I loved," which is a most touching tribute to young love, and by the Title song, which I think is Judy Collin's strongest vocal track, period. And "Someday Soon" is of course a classic, perhaps the only track here that most casual radio listeners ever heard.

So if you are a sixties kid and missed it, it's never too late. But I think it might be be heard most appreciatively by the young, and if you think your kids (or grandkids) would appreciate a really pure and heartfelt blend of the best of what I believe they now call "Americana" or "alt-country" music, played by some of the best musicians ever, then you should buy this for them. December 8, 2007

a classic that stands the test of time

The second you hear the first chords of "Hello Hooray" you know you're in for something great. I don't know if I'd call it folk, more like modern American Standards (Dylan and Leonard Cohen, indeed). Judy Collins uses her seemingly flawless vocals to conjure up a patchwork of rich emotions -- taking you through optimism, sadness, regret, longing and innocent hope. That's typical for Judy Collins though. What seems unique about this album is that she sings in a lower register and with more definite phrasing, so she sounds more like a story teller than on other albums (a lot like in the 9/11 tribute song she wrote). The stories become rich under her command, so we are grabbed by the urgency of "Story of Isaac", the hope in "Someday Soon" and the mixed pensive sentiment in the beautiful "My Father". If you've ever liked Judy Collins but perhaps aren't familiar with the songs on this album, give it a try -- she sounds great. July 14, 2007

Collins' rock record

Recorded live in the studio, and what a dream team for the sessions! The heaviest cat, of course, is Stills - right between Buffalo Springfield and CSN - and his guitar work rates with the best of his career. (His coda solo on "First Boy I Loved" must have been on Mark Knopfler's turntable for weeks.) "Hello Hooray," later covered (perhaps nuked) by Alice Cooper, is splendid fun - and shows off just what a great singer Collins was. Her own compositions are, justifiably, a bit simpler with the rock context than other, arty and orchestrated sessions. Not as wonderous as In My Life or Whales and Nightingales but this record is another quintessential piece of the Sixties jigsaw - of which Collins played a major part. May 9, 2007

"WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES": JUDY COLLINS' FOLK-ROCK MASTERPIECE

Judy Collins' 1968 release "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" is a true folk-rock masterpiece which may very well have set the standard and was the template for the modern folk-rock wave that took hold of the music scene by by dawning of the 1970s. Filled with masterly covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band and Ian Tyson, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" has a country-rock edge to it and a smattering of her classical inclinations mixed into its folkiness.

The album starts out with "Hello, Hooray", a rousing number about performing, something the hard-working Collins knows quite a bit about.

Next up is Cohen's bizarre tale, "Story Of Isaac", with its religious overtones and its haunting harpsichord accompaniment. On this album, she's also covered (what I feel) is the premier cover of his "Bird On A Wire", done in a countrified style, as is Ian and Sylvia's "Someday Soon", a hit for Judy.

Collins' beautiful soprano floats on Dyaln's "Pity The Poor Immigrant" and The Incredible String Band's "First Boy I Loved".

The title track is by the late Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention and is a shining example of how Judy Collins' artistry can make a song her very own.

The eerie "Pretty Polly" (a "traditional" song and, again, I don't know where Collins digs up some of these interesting things she's recorded over the years) is a staggering account of physical abuse and murder with a moral to it.

Her own composition, "My Father", is truly magnificent and shows what a polished songwriter and keyboardist she is.

"Who Knows Where The Time Goes" really moves and is another album from Judy Collins' pinnacle of fame that has stood the test of time, sounding as modern as ever amidst the new trend of Americana-flavored music which has made headway in recent years and is a great example of the influence she has had on the music world. January 17, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...