Endowed with a clear, strong soprano, Joan Baez might have become just another pretty female folk singer—but Baez set herself apart with the ability to draw out the darkness in a song while expressing an openly personal vulnerability. Digging deep into The Band's song about a bitter Confederate soldier, Baez finds in it a real sense of loss, and imbues a Bob Dylan composition with even more generosity and sadness. Baez wrote some gems herself—but it's in those interpretations of others' tunes where her talents come brilliantly to life.