

By the late 1960s, Judy Collins was hitting her stride and approaching her peak. Her albums were stocked with the finest emerging songwriters, her voice was in ear-raising form and her album productions struck the correct balance between their folk roots, their art song ambitions and the demands of radio. With a stellar backing ensemble, Collins tackles two Leonard Cohen tunes, the iconic “Bird On the Wire” and the Biblically haunting “Story of Isaac.” Ian Tyson’s “Someday Soon” became a standard. Bob Dylan’s slightly more obscure “Poor Immigrant” and Sandy Denny’s title track are the virtual definition of Collins’ constant sophistication with the modern folk song. Collins’ own “My Father” adds a personal note to the proceedings. However, she hardly needs to pen her own songs to convey her deep emotional connection to the material. The Incredible String Band’s “First Boy I Loved” could have come the pages of her own diary considering the intimacy she conveys. Who Knows Where The Time Goes is a career highpoint and an absolute essential of the era.