[Buffy Sainte-Marie's] first public appearances were made while she was a college senior and it did not take long before a near cult was forming around her. Everything about Buffy's manner and material radiated excitement and originality and the stamp of a strong new personality. When she sang her blistering indictment of "Cod'ine," one knew that here was a forceful new voice on the songwriting roster. Whether her subsequent songs spoke of topical matters, militarism ("Universal Soldier") or discrimination against Indians, it was always with a fresh point of view and an avoidance of the clichés that early crept into the topical songwriting movement.

Her singing has gone through many transformations, not all of them totally satisfying to some discriminating listeners, who fear that some melodrama is replacing her initial dramatic impact. Whatever the merits of that debate, when Buffy Sainte-Marie addresses herself to one of her...