Sweet Judy Blue Eyes

My Life in Music

By: Judy Collins

Narrated by: Judy Collins

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

A vivid, highly evocative memoir of one of the reigning icons of folk music, highlighting the decade of the ’60s, when hits like “Both Sides Now” catapulted her to international fame. 

Sweet Judy Blue Eyes is the deeply personal, honest, and revealing memoir of folk legend and relentlessly creative spirit Judy Collins. In it, she talks about her alcoholism, her lasting love affair with Stephen Stills, her friendships with Joan Baez, Richard and Mimi Fariña, David Crosby, and Leonard Cohen and, above all, the music that helped define a decade and a generation’s sound track. 

Sweet Judy Blue Eyes invites the listener into the parties that peppered Laurel Canyon and into the recording studio so we see how cuts evolved take after take, while it sets an array of amazing musical talent against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent decades of twentieth-century America. 

Beautifully written, richly textured, and sharply insightful, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes is an unforgettable chronicle of the folk renaissance in America. 

©2011 Judy Collins (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“…a fascinating and even harrowing musical and personal reflection.” ( Kirkus)

Voices of the angels...

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.

Ruby-throated sparrow still flying high

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!

self-indulgent

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

better content

Has Sweet Judy Blue Eyes turned you off from other books in this genre?

no

What didn’t you like about Judy Collins’s performance?

she sometimes uses this breathy, fairytale voice. Downright annoying

Any additional comments?

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.

A Story of Bad Behavior and Rationalization

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.

Wonderful Journey

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.

Sweet, sweet Judy - a real icon

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, on CD.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sweet Judy Blue Eyes?

The entire Chapter One took me back to the sixties!

What does Judy Collins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

her voice and emotion

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

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!

This was a WONDERFUL memoir!

I so enjoyed listening to this book. Judy is so authentic and revealing. You feel like a very close friend. Her life has been interesting and heartbreaking and wondrous all at the same time. She sings throughout the audio book which is a huge bonus! I actually went to high school with Judy, so it was especially interesting to me. But if you lived through the days of the birth of
folksinging, you will love it also.

I loved hearing this book!

Judy Collins narrates her book. Her voice makes it really feel like she’s talking to us, the listening audience. The story of her life is fascinating.

Suite Judy a Little Too Sweet

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Ummnnnn... I might. It had it's moments.

Did Sweet Judy Blue Eyes inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

I'm guessing that Judy Collins has stories about her life and friends that weren't so sweet. That most of her peers from her early beginnings are still alive might have inhibited some of the juicier, more real stories from hitting the page. But overall, a good listen, if only to see if there was going to be any truly meaty 411.
That said, the times she sings a cappella, are worth the price of the book. She is still in extraordinary voice.

beautifully boring

What would have made Sweet Judy Blue Eyes better?

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

Has Sweet Judy Blue Eyes turned you off from other books in this genre?

not at all

What didn’t you like about Judy Collins’s performance?

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

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Sweet Judy Blue Eyes?

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.

Any additional comments?

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.