

While In Concert, Part 2 was the first Joan Baez album to feature songs by an emerging songwriter named Bob Dylan, 5 was her first studio album to feature works by modern songwriters alongside traditional material. Just as Baez's ears had never failed her in finding songs from the ages, they led her to Phil Ochs' stunning "There but for Fortune," Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone," and, of course, Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me, Babe." Most gripping is her rendition of Richard Farina's "Birmingham Sunday," a song about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963; it never leaves a dry eye in the house. Utah Symphony Orchestra conductor Maurice Abravanel brings eight cellos to accompany Baez for an ambitious performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5—Aria." Classic folk songs such as "Stewball" (which modern ears may hear as John Lennon's "Happy Xmas "), "The Death of Queen Jane," and "So We'll Go No More A-Rovin'" provide balance. This reissue adds two classics often associated with country music: "Tramp on the Street" and "Long Black Veil."