Play Me Backwards

Personnel: Joan Baez (vocals); Kenny Greenberg, Richard Bennett, Jerry Douglas (guitar); Carl Gorodetzky, Pam Sixfin (violin); Kristin Wilkinson (viola); Bob Mason (cello); Wally Wilson, Mike Lawler, Steve Nathan (keyboards); Glen Worf, Edgar Meyer, Willie Weeks (bass); James Stroud, Chad Cromwell (drums); Tom Roady, Marcos Suzano (percussion); Greg Barnhill, Ashley Cleveland, Jonell Mosser, Chris Rodriguez, Cyndi Richardson, Vicki Hampton (background vocals).
Engineers: James A. Ball, Peter Coleman, Greg Parker.
Recorded at Treasure Isle Recorder, Woodland Sound, OMNI Sound, and The Reflections, Nashville, Tennessee.
This 1994 release finds the iconic folk singer in a pop/rock setting. Song such as "Stones in the Road," "I'm With You," and "Edge of Glory" have strong backbeats and electric guitars; "Through Your Hands" even features synthesizers. Conversely, songs such as "Isaac and Abraham" and "Steal Across the Border" hark back to a largely acoustic, folk sound.
On PLAY ME BACKWARDS, Baez's songs are less concerned with political issues of the day, focusing more on personal expression and inner struggle. For instance, on "The Dream Song" she sings, "I had a dream, I was following a barefoot girl...and I thought I woke and my mother was standing there...And my heart broke..." Baez is backed here by a smartly arranged string quintet, a change of pace for the guitar-based singer. A creative and deeply poetic album, PLAY ME BACKWARDS is one of Joan Baez's most compelling later releases.