Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music

What an absolute joy this listen is! Ms. Collins tells her own life story, all the joys and pain. The other greats of the music world pass in and through -- the "folkies", Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin. Her romance with Stephen Stills. Her collaboration with songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and Mimi and Richard Farina. She speaks with raw honesty about her alcoholism and the joy of her recovery. She often breaks in to beautiful a cappella renderings of some of her songs. Bonus -- Listen all the way through, past the credits. She sings several songs, tributes in part to her family - her son in "Born to the Breed", then "My Father" and one I'd not ever heard, about her mother. So moving. Wonderful, simply wonderful.

Wow! I thought I'd enjoy this book, but I didn't expect to be so utterly blown away. It's a poetically written autobiography, but the best part is that Judy herself did the reading. Her lilting, somewhat pensive voice is absolutely perfect...but wait...she treats the listener to many snippets of acapella singing & her voice is still that of an angel.

I'm old enough to remember the 60s & 70s (from a child's eyes) but too young to really appreciate what was going on in the world. It was wonderful to hear Judy's experiences in the civil rights movement, peace movement, etc. The release was perfect timing for OWS. I myself am a peace activist which is one reason I'm attracted to Judy Collins in the first place.

This is one book that you really have to HEAR rather than read. Ten stars!

better content

no

she sometimes uses this breathy, fairytale voice. Downright annoying

I just think she should not be on such a high horse taking absolutely no responsibility for her behavior of trampling over the hearts and feelings of people in her life, starting with her husband. She is a professional cheater, unable to have real feelings towards the people in her life that mattered. A horrible mother, sacrificing a relationship with her son to all her "lovers", "causes" and actions and distractions that take front seat, and shipping that poor kid off to boarding school at 13.
Of course, she never assumes responsibility for anything, her alcoholism is "genetic" as if she never had a choice, but she had choices, and made a lot of bad ones.
I used to like a few of her songs, but that is tainted for me now.
At her age -like in her seventies- there is no fessing up to her flawed decisions, and her loveless behavior to people she should have genuinely cared about, only excuses, excuses and no sign of personal growth. How sad.

This audiobook is an amazing accomplishment. For one thing, Judy Collins reveals all her innermost hopes and dreams and where they took her in life. Secondly, she reads it herself and that gives the book a lot of meaning. It's an epic story. She made all these choices in life and it is mind boggling how it all turned out. She is famous and has accomplished so much. Now listen to what happened behind the scenes. I felt like I was there, from growing up in Seattle and Boulder, to getting married and moving on, it really brings you back into that place and time. Well worth listening to. I loved it! Songs at the end are wonderful too.

I don't know. I love her music I just couldn't get into this

no

no

didn't make it through the 1st chapter

May be a personal preference

Judy Collins story as told by herself, I believe, is probably quite different from the one her ex-husbands and others hurt by her bad behavior would tell. Judy is good at rationalizing her behavior, and trying to find causes for it related to pretty much anyone or anything other than herself. I personally became tired of reading of her moral outrage over the Veitnam War, while she seemed perfectly content with her own amoral behavior.
I found her breathy narration a little too melodramatic.

Yes, on CD.

The entire Chapter One took me back to the sixties!

her voice and emotion

no

I was extremely disappointed in the sound quality of audibles rendition thay I am now buying the CD version instead. For only three dollars more I can have the entire frequency range and clarity that is missing form all audible products.It is so sad that audible has such a lock on the industry, as their sound quality is so much less than optimum - in a word, lousy!. Buy the CD version for a geniune experience of her beautiful voice!

Perhaps a different narrator. While the authenticity is great, having a third party narrator would have added some color to the story.

not at all

it is authentic and up-front, but fairly monotone. I love her songs and singing, but the narration did not ignite anything.

Difficult to say, since many of the scenes and commentaries seemed repetitive and mundane, except for the fact that famous people were performing in various altered states.

I couldn't follow a chronology or theme or flow to the narration. This may be one book that should be read, not listed to.

Brutally honest, very well written and narrated memoir by an icon of the folk era. I couldn't stop listening! Includes a number of her songs at the end.