Kate Wolf's first live album--others, including AN EVENING IN AUSTIN and CARRY IT ON, were released after her death in 1986--is a two-disc set from 1983. Like the first of those posthumous releases, GIVE YOURSELF TO LOVE features minimal backing from Wolf's longtime collaborators, guitarist Nina Gerber and bassist Ford James.
Recorded at three different locations in her native Northern California, from the large theater the Great American Music Hall to the more intimate American Victorian Museum, the 19 songs (most with introductions) go back to Wolf's 1976 debut, BACK ROADS. The selection also includes an interesting range of covers, from well-known items like Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" and Jack Tempchin's "Peaceful Easy Feeling," to more obscure tunes like Muriel Hogan's eco-political protest "Agent Orange." The sound is excellent, as are the performances.