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3 2-CD set, the peaceful warrior for human dignity surveys the progress that's been made in his lifetime and what still needs to be celebrated in the flesh - leading a singalong - or in our hearts. Pete is still sowing the seeds of peace and justice, whether inspiring Bruce Springsteen to carry on Of the CD's 32 tracks, 26 have never been previously recorded by Pete.
He is joined on the next set of songs ("It's a Long Haul," "Throw Away That Shad Net," "Song of the World's Last Whale," "If It Can't Be Reduced," "The First Settlers"), which address two of Pete's leading concerns - ecology and peaceful coexistence. Of the CD's 32 tracks, 26 have never been previously recorded by Pete. He is joined on the next set of songs ("It's a Long Haul," "Throw Away That Shad Net," "Song of the World's Last Whale," "If It Can't Be Reduced," "The First Settlers"), which address two of Pete's leading concerns - ecology and peaceful coexistence. Of the CD's 32 tracks, 26 have never been previously recorded by Pete.
The last segment of the World's Last Whale," "If It Can't Be Reduced," "The First Settlers"), which address two of Pete's leading concerns - ecology and peaceful coexistence. After the opening amble of Pete's leading concerns - ecology and peaceful coexistence. The tragic uselessness of war ("When I Was Most Beautiful," "Bach at Treblinka") is lightened by a version of The Weavers' old favorite, "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena," that adds a hopeful mingling of recently added Arabic lyrics to the existing verses in Hebrew and English. After the opening amble of Pete's "Nameless Banjo Riff," 89-year-old Seeger acknowledges on "False From True" that he's now of an age when it's time to reassess what's left to do - separating false from true, more important now than ever in this age of misinformation.
The tragic uselessness of war ("When I Was Most Beautiful," "Bach at Treblinka") is lightened by a version of The Weavers' old favorite, "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena," that adds a hopeful mingling of recently added Arabic lyrics to the existing verses in Hebrew and English. There's a particularly poignant moment on "Little Fat Baby" when Pete confronts his own mortality: "Some day, we'll be saying so long/Some day, it'll be time for me to move on"). But that day hasn't yet arrived.
Like Tom Joad or Joe Hill, when there are wrongs to be celebrated in the war between good and evil, that's where we'll always find Pete Seeger: in the flesh - leading a singalong - or in our hearts. Pete is still sowing the seeds of peace and justice, whether inspiring Bruce Springsteen to carry on his legacy of musical tradition and personal activism or getting a classroom of school kids to sing songs in other languages.
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