Joan Baez – with the very able assistance of Nashville’s finest sidemen – produced a soulful and tastefully understated cover of a classic Rolling Stones tune from their Beggars Banquet album:
“No Expectations“
Joan Baez (1970)
Baez’s version of “No Expectations” was included on 1969’s One Day at a Time (Vanguard) and also issued as the A-side of a single for release in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Sweden, and New Zealand. The album’s title track is a cover of Willie Nelson.
Cash Box selected “No Expectations” as a Pick of the Week for its March 28, 1970 issue with an enthusiastic thumbs up:
Distilled reading of the Stones’ song provides Joan Baez with one of the strongest bits of material in her latest LP and now with a powerful single entry. Showing more concentration on the material than on vocal purity, Miss B. sound like a winner with this country/pop side for AM and FM markets.
45 picture sleeve
LP Musician & Production Credits
Grady Martin – Electric guitar, electric sitar & dobro
Hal Rugg – Steel guitar & dobro
Pete Drake – Steel guitar
Harold Bradley – Bass guitar
Norbert Putnam – Electric bass
Junior Huskey – String bass
Jerry Reed – Fingerpicking & rhythm guitar
Pete Wade – High rhythm guitar
Jerry Shook – Rhythm guitar
Tommy Jackson – Fiddle & viola
Buddy Spicher – Fiddle & viola
Hargus Robbins – Piano
Kenny Buttrey – Drums
Charlie McCoy – Organ, harmonica & vibes
David Briggs – Piano & harpsichord
Recording Engineer – Jerry Bradley
Associate Producer – Jack Lothrop
Producer – Maynard Solomon
Recorded at Bradley’s Barn
*
“No Expectations” reached the #27 position on Record World‘s ‘Singles Coming Up‘ (i.e., “bubbling up“) chart for the week of April 4, 1970.
45 picture sleeve
*
LINK to Country Rock on Zero to 180
