3:23
In My Own Time, 1971
Written by Dino Valenti
A haunting, soul-baring piece of folk-blues, delivered with a unique voice, a nasal, world-weary, cracked alto that aches with lived experience. The sparse arrangement, gently picked guitar, quiet trills of strings, subtle bass, and minimal percussion let Dalton's vocals take center stage. Her phrasing is delicate yet devastating, each word weighed down with sorrow and resilience. The song itself wrestles with truth, self-deception, and the ache of disillusionment, making it a timeless gut-punch of raw vulnerability and understated power. I had never heard of this artist, but I immediately was taken by her voice. This song is from her second and final album, but she didn't die until 1993; although she began sharing a stage with Dylan and has been championed by many music greats, apparently she hated recording and drank a lot. Hashtag sad.