Defining matters of personal taste by injecting pedantic views doesn't make sense to me. Baez butchered a few songs--but then who among us hasn't. I hear her rendition of "Love is Just a Four Letter Word" and I really like it. I hear her "Walls of Redwing" and I cringe. Baez introduced Dylan to the world--he would have been introduced anyway, but she recognized the guy who may be the greatest songwriter who ever did, is or will live. We can also listen to Dylan and wonder about some of what he does to his own songs, and can he vocalize? Not worth a damn. Can he sing? Absafu#kin'lutely, and better than anyone else who has ever recorded. No one will ever do "The Times They Are A'Changin'" with more whatever it is than he. What we have now is studios that can make anyone sound good, and writers who are really slick. We see further because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Baez is one of those giants, and certainly Dylan is another. One of the greatest live performers in the whole darn world has only ever had a few things make the top 100: Richie Havens. Any of these people can reach and hold an audience, and frankly I don't care what the scholars say. These people are the giants upon whose shoulders we stand--they rank with the best the world has had to offer. IMHO.

Bruce Murdoch