Customer Reviews

Together in Concert

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About 20 years ago I sold all my albums and started replacing them with compact discs. A few of the albums were hard to part with, because they weren't available on cd yet. This was the toughest one for me to give up and I was thrilled to see it out on cd last year. I ordered it and found it even better than I remembered.

This concert was originally recorded for a PBS concert special. It's just Pete and Arlo, a guitar, a banjo and a piano. They sing a collection of folk songs, old and new (at the time), but mostly old. It's part concert, part tribute to Woody, Sonny, Cisco and Leadbelly.

Some of the better songs included in this collection are, "Get Up and Go," which is Pete's hilarious look at getting old, "Deportee," a great old Woody Guthrie song and "Sweet Rosyanne," which is one of those songs that's almost impossible not to sing along with.

If you like folk music and don't have this cd, buy it now and you won't regret it.

I believe that we tend to use the term "must have" a little too freely these days when rating the significance of a music or film genre. It's easy to do .. there is so much great stuff out there.
If we slow down a moment though and use our head as well as our heart, the significance of Pete Seeger & Arlo Guthrie Together in Concert as one of the genuine MUST HAVE's is obvious. It is an important and historic link in the Seeger/Guthrie folk music tradition.
For me there are few other albums that capture what folk music is about more than this one. The history, tradition, the ongoing relevance of the messages and the sweet simplicity make this an album that I am sure will be passed on and played forever. It took so long to come out on CD after having been deleted on LP for many years.
Lets hope that it never goes out of print (like many great albums do at times).
There have been a few other joint efforts by Pete and Arlo, all of which I would highly recommend (Precious Friend, More Together Again and HARP with Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert) but Together In Concert is the real MUST HAVE. Add to this Woody Guthrie, Dust Bowl Ballads, The Weavers at Carnegie Hall 1955 and Pete Seeger, We Shall Overcome The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert 1963 and you have the essential beginnings of the American Folk Music collection.
If you love American Folk Music in the tradition of the great Woody Guthrie, put this CD at the top your list and order it now.
Together in Concert will be one of the best and most important buys you make of any music genre.

I grew up though the 1950s and 60s as part of a singing family and songs of Woody Gutherie, Peter Seeger, and The Weavers were among those we sang the most. I was in college in New York City in 1975 and several times saw Pete Seeger give impromptu "sing alongs" in Riverside Park. I bought this album (in vinyl) as soon as it was released and I have played the grooves off of it in the intervening 30 or so years. My 17-year-old son is now headed off to college in New York City and this music has been part of his life. This album contains a marvelous blend of generations, audience and performers. It speaks as clearly to those with a social conscience as it did to the audience in 1975. Sure, some of the topics may be a little dated and new current events have emerged to take their places, but the messages still ring clear and true.

This music has haunted me since 1975, when a college boyfirend turned me on to it. He lasted 2 months; this stuff is forever. It's warm and happy when it's hobos hopping trains, it's alternately biting and angry or idealistic and hopeful when it's political. It's funny and sweet and tells stories. It's great.

This album is a classic, period. I've never understood why it has never gotten the recognition it deserves.

I bought my first vinyl copy at the Univ of Buffalo record co-op in '74 or '75, and bought at least a dozen more for friends who had never heard of it. I made tape copies for others. I have never bought/made this many copies of any other album, before or since. I wore out my vinyl copy playing it, and still have my replacement copy. I had long since given up ever seeing this on CD, but the recent celebrations of Pete's 90th inspired me to look again and discover it's available.

The previous reviews sum up the album pretty well. I'll just add one comment. Even the early 70's lyrics hold up well today. For example, this line from "Get Up and Go" reminds me of a recent administration: "Though nations are warring and Nixon is vexed, I'll still stick around to see what happens next."

In summary: if you like Americana/folk music at all, buy this CD.

This album is an old friend. Like others, I bought (and still have!) the vinyl version of this. It's an old friend too in the relationship between Pete, Arlo, and the audience, which will include you. I had the honor of talking with Arlo once. He told we that they still get together now and then to jam. The Carnegie Hall sessions are merely an extension of those family get-togehers.

Pete Seeger is Americana. He gave to an America that took unjustly from him. Pete was black-listed during the McCarthy Era and struggled to feed his family. Yet he worked to bring dignity to migrants and the family man on the assembly line. Pete marched with Martin Luther King Jr., stood with him at the Lincoln Memorial, and introduced him to "We Shall Over Come." Pete cleaned up the Hudson River and taught thousands to play banjo with his cult classic "How To Play The 5 String Banjo", more than just a book on banjo, its about us. Pete belongs in the Smithsonian, and he is! Via Folkway Records.

Arlo.... Arlo talks a lot! And people like to listen. Woody Guthries son who played at Woodstock. Arlos version of Steve Goodmans "City of New Orleans" was played on the moon. Arlo brings soul to his fathers poem (turned into the song) "Deportee", the rage of Nixon's betrayal in "Presidential Rag", and a sad longing to Dylans "Don't Think Twice".

These are songs of a great America by great Americans.

Enjoy.

This is truly one of the classic live albums. The performances are perfect, even when they're sloppy at times. Arlo's covers of "Walkin' Down the Line" and "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" are my favorite versions of those songs. And of course the originals and the traditional standards are superb.

This was one of my mother's favorite albumes to listen to while I was growing up. It was not easy to find on a CD, and I was very happy to have finally tracked it down. Seeger and Guthrie are in top form on this album, and it is a must-have for all fans of folk music. This album contains Arlo's anti-Watergate song 'Presidential Rag' which I have not been able to find anywhere else. Not only is it a good song in it's own right, but sadly remains timely to this day.

My mother used to play this album for me when I was young and it is one of the most prevelant memories of my childhood. I was always surprised that it was never released on CD, and believe me I've looked hard for it over the years.

It is a work of art and I recommend it to everyone. I can't wait to listen to it again.

I had this double album set in the 70's and could not seem to find it on CD any other place but at Amazon. If you enjoy old time folk music, this is just an excellent choice.