Tag Archives: Pete Seeger

CD Review: Pete Seeger, “Tomorrow’s Children”

Even during his younger days, Pete Seeger was something of an ambivalent recording artist.

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He feared that the more he sang on record, the less likely people would be to join in and sing along; foreign as it might seem in this age of tabloid-reported indiscretions and phony social media friendships, Seeger never desired celebrity. He’s really always worked to build a creative relationship with his audience, and he’s always stressed the power of participation — in family, in community, and in the arts.

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Now 91, Seeger isn’t the vocalist he used to be, but he’s only used this as an excuse to further embrace the group performances he’s always encouraged; his Appleseed Recordings tenure has included a number of collaborations, and that trend continues with the delightful Tomorrow’s Children. Continue reading

CD Reviews: Music for Little People, “Pickin’ & Grinnin'” and “Love & Peace”

Music for Little People turns 25 this year, and they’re celebrating by releasing a pair of compilations that reflect their quarter-century dedication to helping parents entertain kids: Pickin’ & Grinnin’: Great Folk Songs for Kids and Love & Peace: Greatest Hits for Kids. Between them, you get 32 tracks from a pleasing variety of performers from across the kids’ music spectrum, and though they’re arranged thematically, both collections are similar enough — and they both include songs from so many talented artists — that either one will suit pretty much any family mood.

Both compilations include a number of kiddie giants — Raffi, who I hate, pops up on both of them — but you can expect plenty of surprises, too. Buckweat Zydeco and Bonnie Raitt appear on Pickin’ & Grinnin’, for instance, and on Love & Peace, you’ll hear Faith Hill, Sheila E., and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson (the latter popping up, along with some kids, on a sweeter-than-you’d-expect version of “If I Had a Hammer”).

All in all, it’s really entertaining stuff, and although the current age of mp3s, iPods, and burned CDs has left us less reliant than ever on label-curated compilations, both Pickin’ & Grinnin’ and Love & Peace are perfect for keeping handy in the car for long family car rides. They’re also great for educators (as my kindergarten-teaching wife can attest), or anyone who finds themselves responsible for wrangling a group of little people. You could seek most of this stuff out on your own, but really, any albums that collect songs from Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Los Lobos, Maria Muldaur, Dan Zanes, Woody Guthrie — and many, many more — are worth celebrating, aren’t they? For any parent who’s building a kindie collection, these two CDs are a splendid way to start, blending time-tested classics and new favorites with style. Wonderful, just wonderful.

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CD Review: Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family, “Go Waggaloo”

515k1LUvczL._SCLZZZZZZZ_[1]Sarah Lee Guthrie is Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter — and the youngest daughter of Arlo Guthrie, whose “Alice’s Restaurant” took satirical folk protest songs to a whole new level — so her first children’s CD, Go Waggaloo, carries a greater weight of expectation than most debuts. Then again, most artists don’t debut on Smithsonian Folkways, a label geared much more strongly toward the music of the past, but Guthrie’s music fits right in: Waggaloo adds a vibrant new thread to the tapestry of traditional American music, weaving together a seamless blend of original songs and Woody Guthrie covers to produce a lovely, yet wonderfully raw, hootenanny record for the whole family.

Go Waggaloo is credited to Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family, and the credits reflect that spirit: Songwriting credits are spread between Sarah, her husband Johnny Irion, and their daughter Olivia, and a whole passel of Guthries — plus family friends like Pete Seeger — show up on the recordings. The connections between the musicians — and from the musicians to the songs — translates into an album whose warmth is felt from the first sunny strains of the opening track, “Don’t I Fit in My Daddy’s Shoes?,” and lasts clear through to the final ringing chords of “Oni’s Ponies.” In between, you get a half hour of fun that includes the joyous title track, the startling morality tale “Oh How He Lied,” the lovely “Big Moon,” a transcendent group runthrough of the classic “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain,” and much more. It feels less like an album than an accidental peek into a very talented family’s singalong, which fits right in with the Guthrie/Seeger musical mission statement: Singing is just as important as listening, and everything is more fun when we all join in. Continue reading