If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle

Pete Seeger | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 19, 1998)
• Original Release Date: May 19, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B00000611U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,616 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Pete Seeger is a national treasure, a living American institution. Unfortunately in our fast-paced world we often forget about our treasures, our institutions, and our heritage. This wonderful collection, culled from his massive library of work with Folkways Records, is, if nothing else, a reminder of how much Pete Seeger means to America. Seeger sang for the people and their rights at a time when that could get rabble-rousers blacklisted and worse. What's more, he got the people singing for themselves. You'll know many of these songs--the title track, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "Turn, Turn, Turn"--you just might not know them in their original voice. If I Had a Hammer will set that straight. --Michael Ruby

Product Description

For over 50 years Pete Seeger's music has included songs on labor, civil rights, peace, and the hope for a better world. This CD contains 24 tracks selected from hundreds released on Folkways Records in the late 1950s and 1960s and 2 new songs recorded especially for this collection. Pete plays the 5-string banjo and the 12-string guitar, and appears on some tracks with Almanac Singers and his grandson Tao Rodriguez. Booklet contains detailed notes by Mark Greenberg and a complete discography of Pete Seeger on Folkways. 71 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pete Seeger as a protest folksinger, the Folkways recordings, July 9, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle (Audio CD)

My introduction to Pete Seeger was when he contributed to the cancellation of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" when he showed up in 1967 and sang "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy," a song which attacked the Vietnam War and President Lyndon Johnson, albeit through a metaphorical narrative. Eventually I learned that Seeger is arguably the key figure in the folk music movement of the 20th century, a living link between Woody Guthrie (Seeger and Guthrie formed the Almanac Singers) and Bob Dylan. But certainly Seeger was more passionate about politics, the environment, and humanity than either of those gigantic figures. The fact that he was blacklisted during the McCarthy era is enough to establish his bona fides, but so is his career, begun in the late 1930s and continuing through several wars, a dozen causes, and thousands of union meetings. Then there are Seeger's Folkways recordings, that were the first sound of authentic American folk music heard by countless children.

"If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle" is a collection of the best of Seeger's Folkways recordings from the late 1950s and early 1960s. This is the Pete Seeger who was always singing for a cause, and after the original 1956 version of "If I Had a Hammer," written by Seeger and fellow Weaver Lee Hays, you can see how these songs are organized by common themes. First up are songs about the struggle of the American unions and labor movement (tracks 2-9), which offers "Which Side Are You On?", "Casey Jones (The Union Scab)," "Joe Hill," Guthrie's "Union Maid," and, of course, "Solidarity Forever," all sung by Seeger in his clear voice accompanied by the banjo.

Beginning with "Where Have the Flowers Gone?," Seeger's other most recognizable original tune, the songs deal with the peace movement (tracks 10-14), which includes "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" and "Study War No More (Down by the Riverside"). Starting with Leadbelly's "Burgeois Blues" and ending with the traditional "We Shall Overcome," are songs about the civil rights struggle (tracks 15-18). The final segment of the album (tracks 19-26) are devoted to general songs of hope and struggle, the most recognizable of which will be "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season") late doen by the Byrds. There are also a couple of songs recorded in 1998, "We'll All Be A-Doubling" and "Arrange and Rearrange," which show that in recent years the voice has become weaker but that the spirit remains strong.

The liner notes are instructive, detailing the origins of each song and how they have changed over the years. When you listen to these songs you too will become convinced that the only authentic folk music is about political ideas. But then Seeger and Lee Hays, along with Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman, formed the Weavers who popularized more traditional folksongs and spirituals like "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," and "Goodnight Irene." To fully appreciate American folk music you simply have to have both a Weavers hit collection and a collection of Seeger's Folksway songs, like "If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle."

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GEM OF A COLLECTION, November 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle (Audio CD)

I learned many of the songs on this album (Union Maid, Banks of Marble, Joe Hill, Which Side Are You On, Solidarity Forever,etc.) when I went to Camp Kinderland from 1972 - 75. Unfortunately, I couldn't find recordings of these songs once I went off to college in the 1980s. I did find one or two songs on old scratchy records in my folks' record collection, but that was it. What a joy to listen to these songs! I learned quite a few new tunes from the CD. The newly released songs are quite a hoot. I sang "Step by Step" in a chorus Mr. Seeger organized for a Labor Day celebration this year, and referred to the CD for practice on my own. The liner notes are informative and the choice of songs superb. Pete Seeger is a part of American history and these recordings are precious indeed! This CD has renewed my interest in folk and protest music.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive rally songs, January 28, 2005

By 

Tad Nastic "Tad" (place USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle (Audio CD)

This is the most conceptually complete Pete Seeger compilation as far as I'm concerned (unfortunately, tho, it lacks some Columbia era comps: "Bells Of Rhymney" "Waist Deep In the Muddy," etc.). However, this collection compiles what are Seeger's forte: rally songs--songs that motivate people to take social stands. The collection also contains his most definitive versions of some of his best known songs (e.g., Where Have All the Flowers Gone, We Shall Overcome), unlike the Columbia "Greatest Hits" version, which limits itself solely to Columbia recordings. This collection, on the other hand, spans over 4 decades. The earliest recordings are from 1955, and the latest 2 songs were recorded in 1998 especially for this collection. Also it has a previously unreleased tape recording of "Turn Turn Turn." Most of the recordings are from the late 50s and early 60s--a period, indeed, that were "a-changin," as a Seeger mentor would go on to say. Beautiful music for those who believe in a good cause or two.