Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Boom [Box set]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00005JG9A
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,401 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Hard Travelin' - Woody Guthrie

2. Old Man Atom (Talking Atomic Blues) - Sam Hinton

3. Black, Brown And White - Big Bill Broonzy

4. Nottamun Town - Jean Ritchie

5. Darlin' Cory - Ed McCurdy

6. One Meat Ball - Josh White

See all 27 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Walk Right In - The Rooftop Singers

2. He Was A Friend Of Mine - Dave Van Ronk

3. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream 0 The Chad Mitchell Trio

4. Nora's Dove (Dink's Song) - The Big Three

5. 500 Miles - Hedy West

6. Four Strong Winds - Ian & Sylvia

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. The Wabash Cannonball (live) - The Limeliters

2. I Ain't Marching Anymore - Phil Ochs

3. Pack Up Your Sorrows - Richard & Mimi Farina

4. Drop Down Mama - John Hammons

5. Rag Mama - Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band

6. Bells Of Rhymney - John Denver

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Boomer nostalgia trip, July 6, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Boom (Audio CD)

I can't write about this CD in the third person as the other reviewers have because many of the songs bring up vivid memories of the singers and other events happening at the time that were related to those songs. I'm listening to this CD at work, and I would have gotten through all three CDs if I didn't keep repeating some of the songs endlessly. As one who owned about half of these songs on LP, if I were to create a CD with representative songs of the era, many of the same songs would be on it.

Some of my all time favoritesongs are included like "Pack up your sorrows," "Thirsty boots," and "I can't help but wonder where I'm bound." These are on CDs I've already bought, but it is still great to have them all in one place. Other's enter my CD collection for the first time. Finally "Reason to believe," "Suzanne," "Hard Traveling," "Euphoria," "Sing and turn Jubilee" and "The motorcycle song" can be played in the car.

If you are new to this music or this era, this is just a sampling. Some of these artists you will probably want in more depth. When they play "Cod'ine," I want to run home to also hear Buffy Sainte-Marie sing "Pineywood hills" and "Until it's time for me to go." But start here, it's a great introduction. It's hard for me to listen to "Four strong winds" without also hearing "Early morning rain," but if you've never heard Ian & Sylvia, this is one of the two best songs to start with.

If you grew up/old with this music too, how can you resist?

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Compendium, July 20, 2001

By 

Edward Aycock (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Boom (Audio CD)

About 6 years ago, I bought Rhino's "Troubadours of the Folk Era" CD's. They introduced me to many folk singers whom I now know intimately. Taking that one better, Rhino now has this 3 CD set with pictures, liner notes and personal essays. Buyer beware, if you do have the Troubadours CD's, you may be disappointed to learn that many of the same recordings do pop up here. The good news is that there is a wealth of other material here to select from. Joni Mitchell is explained as not appearing due to licensing restrictions in this collection, yet oddly, she appeared on the Troubadour series. Conversely, Dylan appears here although he was not on Troubadours. The times are a'changin' I guess. I do have some minor quibbles with the material selected... "There but for Fortune" is not, in my opinion, the best Joan Baez choice for this collection, as it was released later in the 60's and doesn't have as much of that Washington Square flavor as say, "We Shall Overcome" or any of her broadside ballads do. Also, why do they select "Codine" from Buffy Sainte Marie, which is one of the hardest songs of hers to appreciate at first listening? Also, with lesser known artists such as Judy henske whose older material is NOT available on CD, why do we have "High Flying Bird" yet again, as on Troubadours? It's an amazing song, but for those of us starved for Henske, another selection would have been adequate.

That said, this is still worth having, for its historical impact and musical pleasure. Enjoy!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best folk revival anthology ever!!, November 9, 2001

By 

David R. Delvizo (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Boom (Audio CD)

Since CDs started predominating the form in which music is available to the consumer, there have been many folk reissues. But this one is by far, the best collection of reissues I've seen or heard. It's only problem -- if it's even a problem -- is that after you've listened to all 72 tracks, you're left wanting more. The sound quality too is excellent. Go for it!