Customer Reviews

Pete Seeger: Live in Australia 1963

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OK, black & white, but that actually seems to add to the nostalgic aspect of this great look at folk music as presented by Pete Seeger in 1963. He went on a 22 country, 10-month world tour blessing the world with folk music and, himself, picking up some new folk music from other countries along the way. Seeger received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1993), and this DVD shows why. It's still hard to believe the folk singer was blacklisted in the USA.

Fortunately, Australia loved his music and overlooked his politics, giving him a warm welcome and preserved it on film. Then, after a long shelf rest, it was discovered, Acorn became involved in the restoration, and the rest of the story is in the 16 page booklet that comes with the DVD. Packed full of photos, history, and the DVD contents lists.

The product description lists many of the songs included in this DVD live performance, but special note should be given to a pair of special banjo renderings of the songs "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Allegretto from Beethoven's 7th Symphony." Wow. And Seeger even teaches the Aussie concert attenders to yodel to "Way Out There" a song done with banjo that was taken from "Sons of the Pioneers."

Another favorite of mine was "I Never Will Marry" plus one actually written by Bob Dylan but performed by Seeger, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." Then you'll just have to sing along with "Michael, row The Boat Ashore" and "If I Had A Hammer" (Pete's song) and others.

The concert has a total of 29 musical numbers, ending with "I Know an Old lady Who Swallowed A Fly", fun for any age. There is at least 15 musical presentations as well as some interviews on the Extra Bonus Stuff. There is filmed performances of Lead Belly from 1945, the man who taught Pete Seeger to play the 12 string guitar. Seeger sings some of his songs as well.

This DVD is 160 total minutes of looking back at folk music of the Hootenanny (the word was coined by Seeger) years as well as an educational but enjoyable romp through the history of American Folk Music and some of its origin. Perhaps this DVD would be usable by music teachers. The extras include a method to single out just one song for replay. How easy is that?

Thanks Australian Broadcasting Corporation for helping give Pete Seeger folk music back the United States.

Pete Seeger: Live in Australia 1963 is a black-and-white DVD capturing the 1963 Melbourne concert of folk musician Pete Seeger, who at the time was blacklisted and barred from American television. In Australia he was widely beloved and gave sold-out performances. Nearly an hour of bonus footage taken from Seeger's other Australian television appearances rounds out this must-have DVD for folk lovers. Additional bonuses include a 16-page booklet with liner notes by Seeger biographer David K. Dunaway, rare photographs, and interviews Seeger gave on Australian news programs. Seeger's iconic banjo, guitar, and mellifluous voice are a treasure to listen to, in this enthusiastically recommended DVD. 105 minutes.

This is a fantastic DVD. Pete Seeger has always suprised me with his
musical talent and this 1963 consert he has outdone himself. Bravo!!!!

Pete Seeger was banned from American Television in 1963. As any great American would, he didn't stand for it. He took his act on the road, to the world. And here the great people of Reelin' In the Years provide us with the proof of his noble efforts, capturing an entire concert given in Australia. If a good man is never honored in his own country, Pete Seeger was honored in every other corner of the globe. The video is first rate, the sound is too. (Much better than on that 'Hootenanny' DVD. You remember Hootenanny, the ABC show that wanted Pete to sign a Loyalty Oath). Get the DVD. You'll see a great artist, a great spirit, and a great American at work.

Watching this video brought me back to the 1963 Newport Folk Festival which he co-founded. Pete has always been a master at getting the audience involved which enhances the experience of the concert. He is a great multitasker as well in the way he plays, sings, shouts out the next verse to be sung, changes his tone to better blend in with the audience without missing a lick.
If you know about Pete and his life and are a fan of folk don't miss this video. It will keep the songs, style and spirit of this great man alive long after he gone, which hopefully won't be for several more years. Although his voice now quivers a bit he still puts his heart and soul into his work. I don't say performances because he does so much more.

In spite of being a bit grainy black and white, the flavor and charm of Pete still comes through. thank goodness someone had the foresight to tape it - probably one of the first ever concert videos! Just pure fun to watch - sure takes you back a few years (ok, more than a few). Any Seeger or Weavers fans will be happy.

It is hard to believe that this is the first (and hopefully not the last) video recording of a live Pete Seeger concert at the height of the 60's folk revival that he was so much responsible for! If for no other reason, this DVD is a MUST for anybody who is even remotely interested in Pete Seeger's live performances. If you have listened to his live records of that period (et Pete Seeger at the Village Gate, Sing Out Hootenanny, We Shall Overcome, etc) you can now finally match images to the sound, as he performs the classical repertoir of the golden years of the folk music boom. To be fair, while Seeger is as good as he ever was, the Australian audience appears to be somewhat wooden, less warm and involved that one would have imagined (or seen in his later live performances in the US). Although Seeger had a large following in Australia at the time, it is possible that the songs were not as familiar to the audience as they were in the States (it is amusing to notice the absolute lack of reaction to Seeger's mention of a "young songwriter called Bob Dylan", who had just released "Blowing in the Wind" and "Hard Rain"). Certainly, when Pete sings songs that were also commercial hits (the Hammer Song, Michael Row the Boat Ashore) people in the audience sing, bob their heads, clap the rhythm just as we are used to seeing during Seeger's live performances.

The bonus material alone is worth the price of the DVD: several Australian TV news interviews, each with one or two songs, a long excerpt from a live performance at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and a half-hour live performance themed on Leadbelly. A short documentary on an Australian traditional folk singer, produced by Pete and Toshi Seeger is also included.

Altogether, with almost three hours of music, this DVD is certainly excellent value for the money! Get it!

This is wonderful music and it is fascinating to watch the crowd reaction to Pete Seeger.

This film, while not of good visual quality, should nonetheless be in the library of anyone interested in American folk music. Anyone who knows Seeger's work will clearly recognise the beauty of his performances and the wonder of his story telling.

Watching this DVD, including all the beaut extras, brought a magic period back to life. My mate and I, both Year 11 students, were at this show and I was almost apoplectic with delight at so many of the songs and scenes. This is a great buy for the nostalgia alone but much more in terms of the history of folk music at a crucial period, before it discovered commercialism through the likes of The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary and so on. The extras, including interviews, a very warm introduction to his Bandstand gig by Brian Henderson and a wonderfully informal studio gig are better quality than the concert but this is to be expected. Given the network bans and the political controversy still surrounding Pete Seeger at this time, just to attend was making a statement and his repertoire would have been considered quite edgy, and in some respects still is. The ABC concert video taping, while an inspired initiative, has a number of technical and aesthetic shortcomings (it was 47 years ago and Australian TV was just 6 years old) but it captured so much of the night and the time. The songs include the familiar, the unknown and some that were only emerging. To be honest some bits dragged a little, but I remember, as a teenager, thinking the same on the night, so it's an honest rendition. It's frustrating that the ABC cameras were so limited in their shots and we see the same audience groupings over and over again (Did we really have no sense of fashion at all in 1962?) On the other hand, Pete is wonderfully spontaneous but still utterly professional throughout a very long totally one-man show, with no props. Ignore the grainy B&W, the uneven program and those awful clothes - this is a gem.