That Eric Alper

Craft Recordings commemorates the 60th anniversary of Joan Baez’s bestselling sixth studio album, Farewell, Angelina, with its first wide vinyl reissue in nearly four decades. A pivotal release in Baez’s catalog, the album blends traditional folk standards with contemporary covers, marking a notable stylistic evolution—including the singer-songwriter’s first use of electric guitar. Set for release on October 3rd, Farewell, Angelina returns with all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl (via Fidelity Record Pressing). An old-school style tip-on jacket, meanwhile, replicates the LP’s original cover. The remastered album will also be available across standard and hi-res digital platforms on October 3rd. Click here to pre-order and stream the album.

Singer, songwriter and activist Joan Baez (b.1941) is one of modern music’s most influential and enduring voices, with a career that spans nearly seven decades and includes over 30 albums. A gifted interpreter of song and a tireless voice for human rights, Baez first caught the public’s attention at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival, where her performance not only impressed her peers but also led to a contract with Vanguard Records. The artist quickly became a critical and commercial sensation, thanks to such best-selling titles as Joan Baez (1960) and the live Joan Baez in Concert (1962). While these early works focused on traditional folk material, Baez began to integrate contemporary songs into her albums, starting with 1964’s Joan Baez/5.

That stylistic shift continued to an even greater extent with 1965’s Farewell, Angelina, which not only featured works by Baez’s peers, but also—for the first time—incorporated electric instrumentation (courtesy of guitarist Bruce Langhorne). In fact, amid a changing musical landscape, the artist’s sixth studio album would be her last to feature such minimal accompaniment. From then on, Baez would work with a larger cadre of studio musicians or, in the case of her next few records, an orchestra.

The songs written by her contemporaries include those by Bob Dylan, including Baez’s debut of “Farewell, Angelina,” plus “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” “Daddy, You Been on My Mind,” and a glorious, extended rendition of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” among others. The album also features selections by Donovan (the up-tempo “Colours”), Woody Guthrie (a stunning cover of “Ranger’s Command”), and Pete Seeger, with a German reimagining of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (“Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind”). Sprinkled into the mix are two traditional songs: a lovely recording of “The Wild Mountain Thyme” which places Baez’s crystalline soprano vocals at the forefront, as well as a haunting performance of “The River in the Pines.” In addition to Langhorne, accompaniment by bassist Russ Savakus, string bassist Richard Romoff, and mandolinist Ralph Rinzler lay a warm bed for Baez’s vocals throughout the album.

Hailed by No Depression as “Perhaps the finest sounding folk record ever,” Farewell, Angelina was a significant hit for Baez, peaking at No.10 on the Billboard 200—the highest US chart position for any of her studio albums. Farewell, Angelina was also one of Baez’s best-selling albums in the UK, landing at No.5, while “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and the title track were top 40 hits there.

The following years would find Baez continuing her sonic evolution, working closely with composer Peter Schickele on a series of orchestrated records and, later, finding a base in Nashville, where she incorporated elements of country and rock. Baez also began writing and recording her own material—often integrating a variety of social justice concerns into her lyrics.

Baez formally retired from the road in 2019, following her extensive “Fare Thee Well Tour” and the release of her 26th studio album—the GRAMMY®-nominated Whistle Down the Wind. Yet her voice remains powerful as ever, both as a musical icon and a tireless activist. 60 years ago this month, Baez took the stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, using her platform to speak out amid the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Just months after performing at the Students for a Democratic Society’s March on Washington, she delivered a poignant set filled with messages of peace, justice, and equality. That same year, she co-founded the Institute for the Study of Nonviolence with fellow anti-war activist Ira Sandperl. Over the decades, Baez’s boundless commitment to the causes she believes in has never wavered.

Baez’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and dedication to activism have drawn a multitude of honors, including a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award (2007), a Latin GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award (2019), and a Spirit of Americana/Free Speech Award at the Americana Music Honors & Awards (2008). She is also a Kennedy Center Honoree (2021) and a Roll and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (2017), while in 2011, she was celebrated with the inaugural Amnesty International Joan Baez Award for Outstanding Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. 2023 saw the release of the acclaimed documentary, Joan Baez: I Am a Noise, as well as her book, Am I Pretty When I Fly?: An Album of Upside Down Drawings (Godine). Most recently, she released When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance (Godine), an intimate, autobiographical poetry collection.

Click here to pre-order Farewell, Angelina.

Farewell, Angelina tracklist (vinyl):

Side A:

1. Farewell, Angelina

2. Daddy, You’ve Been On My Mind

3. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

4. The Wild Mountain Thyme

5. Ranger’s Command

6. Colours

Side B:

1. Satisfied Mind

2. The River In The Pines

3. Pauvre Ruteboeuf

4. Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind

5. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

Farewell, Angelina tracklist (digital):

1. Farewell, Angelina

2. Daddy, You’ve Been On My Mind

3. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

4. The Wild Mountain Thyme

5. Ranger’s Command

6. Colours

7. Satisfied Mind

8. The River In The Pines

9. Pauvre Ruteboeuf

10. Sagt Mir Wo Die Blumen Sind

11. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Celia Cruz, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Isaac Hayes, John Coltrane, John Lee Hooker, Joan Baez, Joan Sebastian, Little Richard, Miles Davis, R.E.M., and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Alison Krauss, Daddy Yankee, Evanescence, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation— ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness, and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.