Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.life From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: JOAN BAEZ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 14:23:38 EST Message-ID: \SE E;LIFE \SS (WS) \HD JOAN BAEZ \SH Music is her cause now, and it's enough as she aims for charts \BY Paul Ben-Itzak \CR REUTERS NEWS AGENCY \DT SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO - Joan Baez, folk singer, 1960s icon and peace activist, is attempting a return to the musical mainstream after a decade of putting most of her energy into political activities. After a string of 28 successful albums in the '60s and '70s, Miss Baez became better known in the '80s for appearing at benefits and peace marches than on musical hit charts. But with last month's release of her first major-label record in 10 years backed by an international tour, Miss Baez, 51, insists she is putting her crusade against violence on hold to concentrate on her singing career again. She always has been at the edge on social issues. She is trying to become musically relevant again with "Play Me Backwards," an album that puts her familiar soprano in a modern musical setting. "My social interests and my infatuation with nonviolence started long before I sang, and they will be there long after my voice chords dry up," says Miss Baez, who lives in the San Francisco suburb of Woodside. Her vocal chords are not dry, judging from the recent opening performance of her 17-city international tour. The concert, in a 19th-century church here, was packed with 300 old and new hippies. The tour will take her to Munich and Paris as well as New York and a dozen other U.S. cities. Dressed in black jeans, a T-shirt and black-and-white vest and accompanied by her own guitar and two other guitarists, Miss Baez took command of the church in a way that would be the envy of any pastor. She started by imitating old friend Bob Dylan with a cover of "It Ain't Me Babe" and finished with "Amazing Grace," the hymn that has opened countless benefits since she debuted in a Boston coffee house in 1958. Her claims that she is taking time out from crusading for nonviolence are contradicted by the title cut of her new album. The song is about baby sacrifice and child abuse perpetrated by Satanist cults. It includes the lyrics: "There's a sacrifice in an empty church of sweet li'l Baby Rose." The scenes described in the song really happened, Miss Baez says. "It's pretty much word for word from people who've experienced these things." Three years ago, she says, an adult friend suddenly became haunted by childhood memories of Satanist rites, including baby sacrifices. The cause was a natural one for Miss Baez to take up. "My life has been spent speaking on behalf of people who couldn't be heard," she says. "And for many reasons, people who have suffered abuse from ritual beliefs can't talk about it. One of the reasons is they are not believed." The rest of the album includes material written by Miss Baez and guest songwriters, including Janis Ian and John Hiatt. The voice is familiar, but the songs are contemporary. Miss Baez joins the growing ranks of Western musicians who are fusing their voices to world rhythms, singing "Abraham and Isaac" backed only by the Brazilian berenbau, which sounds like a cross between a guitar and drum. As Miss Baez ages, the biggest challenge is to keep her voice performing at the pristine, piercing level that used to come naturally. A few years back, fearing she was losing her voice, Miss Baez sought out trainer Bob Bernard, who taught her breathing and singing tricks to compensate for a decline in her natural ability to reach high notes easily. At first, the former nightingale of the '60s, whose soprano was so pure she became known as "the Madonna," resented putting so much work into maintaining her voice. "I said to Bob, 'I have to do all that crap for one high note?' " she recalls. "He said, 'Most of us have had to do that for our entire careers, and you're just doing it now.' " The work required to keep her voice in top form made Miss Baez decide to take time out from political activities. She also has realized that she does not need a political cause as an excuse to get up on stage. "I always felt I had to have an ulterior motive, the singing wasn't enough," she says. "At the moment, the singing itself is a worthwhile end. And that's partly because I am walking history, and it's taken me long enough to realize that that's enough. That I'm my own context." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM