According to a sticker that adorns this CD, “Odetta’s influence can be heard in artists like Janis Joplin, Indigo Girls and Joss Stone.” While there’s no doubt that there’s a kernel of truth in that statement, especially as far as Joplin and the Indigo Girls are concerned, it’s hard to imagine what the average fan of Stone would make of this collection of ten songs, mostly folk standards which were recorded long before the advent of Pro Tools, Auto Tuning or Mariah Carey’s revisionist view of melisma as “soul.” Released as part of a series of mid-priced compilations of material from the Vanguard Records back catalog, this disc is a grab-bag of songs Odetta recorded for the label, and it makes clear the legendary folk-blues singer has an amazing voice, nearly flawless instincts about what to do with it, fine taste in songs, and a sure hand with her guitar. However, it’s far too scattershot in its assembly and execution to do much else; given the length and breadth of her career, Odetta deserves a comprehensive box set rather than another single-disc set, and this quickie introduction to her work doesn’t give new listeners much to go by. Each of the ten songs on Odetta’s edition of Vanguard Visionaries are a joy to listen to, but beyond that this disc doesn’t do much to educate the unenlightened about who Odetta is and why she’s important, and that’s one lesson more folks need to learn. – Mark Deming