Sometimes it's just hard to get excited about yet another 70s singer-songwriter whose music is perfectly adequate but at the same time not exciting or rousing in any way. So I'll keep this one brief. Judy Collins' Living is actually a live recording of her performing 10 songs, mostly covers by songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. My girlfriend hated her vocal style but after listening to enough Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones records, I have at least gotten acclimated to that sort of thing. What I can't get acclimated to is the fact that most of the arrangements here are very quiet, forcing the listener to rely solely on Collins' singing as the means of enjoyment. Well, I find her singing okay but not great, and most of the songs are slow and not particularly memorable. I wouldn't say there is anything bad here, so it probably could be recommended at some level. Collins definitely has some artsy leanings and a number of the songs she covers are definitely good songs (examples: Cohen's "Joan of Arc," Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" and Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"). But for me, the original versions are better, and I don't see myself wanting to return to this record again.
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