Customer Reviews

The Weavers - Greatest Hits

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Most fans would reckon this to be as good a memento of The Weavers as could be devised. A series of twelve items from their various Carnegie Hall concerts has been synthesised, firstly, to provide uninterrupted listening, then comes six items selected from their studio recordings, and then finally comes a further blending of six more Carnegie Hall performances. 64 minutes in all.

As a music teacher in an Australian school, at the time of The Weavers' vogue, I made good use of many of their recordings. I recall that "Follow the Drinking Gourd" was voted highly. Otherwise, The Weavers vogue seemed to me to be over and gone fairly quickly here in Australia.

North American fans might find this Australian perspective of interest. I of course have continued to listen to them for all of forty years. They and their music have sunk deep into my soul by now - which is probably what they are all about. Powerful in all respects is the contributions of their one female singer, Ronnie Gilbert. If her singing in "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" is not powerful, then I don't know what is.

If you don't mind that most of the recordings are live, this is as good a collection of Weavers' tunes as you can find. The sound quality and volume are a bit uneven, but the playing and singing are uniformly excellent and the song selection is like the greatest hits of a generation. The Weavers' harmonizing obviously heavily influenced Peter Paul and Mary, and is endlessly entertaining. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I thought the version of Goodnight Irene was quite good, even if the sound quality isn't perfect.

The Weaver's "Greatest Hits" CD lives up to its name, and presents the most memorable songs by one of America's most important and enjoyable folk bands. The CD is two albums in one, and part of Vanguard's "Twofer" series. The first 13 songs are live, and most of the remaining ones are studio (the order of the songs on the CD is completely different than that listed above). The Weavers' musical style varies greatly including American folk, blues, ethnic folk, and pop orchestration. They sound best - and most timeless -- in recordings with minimal studio production and no background musicians. It is this unique sound that inspired Peter, Paul and Mary, and this also comes out more strongly in their live recordings. The sound quality of this CD is nice and crisp, although the mixing on the live songs is sometimes uneven.

While searching a bin of discounted CDs, I came across this collection. I wasn't enthused, but vaguely remembered a PBS profile of this folk group...and how they "threatened" national stability. Clearly, once you listen to the disc, you realize that the music is just plain great. Most friends won't admit they like folk music, or know who The Weavers are. That is something for them to work out with their God. What I can say is that this music is great with a favorite beverage and the company of good friends. Before you know it, you will be singing along. And just like Pete says, if you don't sing well, sing louder! This is an American Treasure.

This CD satisfies on all counts. This is great music that gets better when played loud. I usually end up singing along and trying to harmonize. I can't help myself. I love it.

I like folk music that sounds great and has a message. The tracks on this CD demonstrate what The Weavers were all about. There are songs about Peace - "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream", Faith - "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" and "When the Saints go Marching In", Poverty - "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime", and Marriage - "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" which gives me the chills each time I hear it. The only song that doesn't seem to fit is "Wimoweh", but what would a Weavers greatest hits be without "Wimoweh"? And it's less than two minutes long.

This is one of my favorite CDs. I also have "The Weavers at Carnegie Hall," and I like this CD better because it has more songs and tighter harmonies, in my opinion. I highly recommend this CD.

The Weavers' concerts were often recorded live. This collection extracts notable tunes from various albums, and re-programs them to simulate a continuous concert. First-time listeners will enjoy the group's tight harmonies and excellent musicianship. Weavers fans will hear some real treats, including a seldom-heard verse of "Goodnight Irene" sung by Pete Seeger, a surprise punchline to "So Long" by Lee Hays, and an exhilarating rendition of "Tzena Tzena Tzena" with its original Hebrew lyrics. Lots to like in this collection.

This release is an essential purchase for those who enjoy folk music or are excavating the folk music tradition. The Weavers were one of the first groups to attain commercial success when their version of Leadbelly's Goodnight Irene was a number 1 single in America for 7 weeks in 1950...!!!
Their success began a folk music resurgence that would eventually bring us the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter Paul and Mary, Judy Collins, Buffie St. Marie, Phil Ochs, The Kingston Trio and countless others

All this from a group that was hounded by HUAC, blacklisters and boycotters and was eventually forced to concede any dream they might have had to make a living from their music. They didn't even release or perform their beautifully happy and hopeful song If I Had A Hammer because of the relentless pressure on them. Of course all was forgotten when Pete Paul and Mary made a hit of If I had a Hammer a decade later.

The weakest part of this release is the lack of liner notes to tell their story and put their accomplishments in perspective... The music is wonderful.

Pete Seeger,Lee Hayes,Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman were "into" folk Music during its revival in the early 40's.They formed "The Weavers" in 1947 and in a very short time became the leaders in the explosion or revival of Folk Music in America.They were front and center with everything and everyone involved,such as Woody Guthrie,Bob Dylan,Ed McCurdy,Huddie Leadbetter,etc.There is no debate as to their left political leanings then, and still today.Seegar ,in particular, made no bones about his underdog,union ,social and communist associations.
This political leaning was and still is associated with folk music and many of the performers in the Folk Music Culture
During the height of the Cold War,there was widespread "Red Scare" sweeping across America.Those were the days ,often referred to "The McCarthy Era" charges of communist infiltration into Anerican society.Many in the media,movie industry,and entertainment were investigated and even blacklisted.One of those most persecuted was "The Weavers";they were blacklisted in 1952,after being brought before the House of Un-American Activities.Their their careers were ruined at their peak of success;and virtually ended in only 4 years.Although they had continued to have limited careers in Folk Music,they never recovered.A reunion was held years later at Carnegie Hall in 1955.However;by that time America had had moved on and Folk Music fell out of favor,largely replaced by Rock.One last hurrah for "The Weavers" occurred when they gathered together for a farwell concert at Carnegie Hall in 1977.Even Lee Hayes,who had been ailing for some time ,joined them in a wheelchair.He passed away in 1977.
The song, so familiar to so many,"Goodnight Irene" was the one that skyrocked them to fame and appropriately the song they closed their final performance with at Carnegie Hall,30 years later.
In 2006,Fred Hellerman recounted, when receiving the Lifetime Achievment Award,"If you can exist and stay the course--not a course of blind obstinacy and faulty conception--but one of learning and good sense,you can outlast your enemies with your honor and integrity intact."

This CD is an excellent collection of 25 of their most popular songs.

This review has been used for other work by The Weavers, including review of the PBS production, The 25th Anniversary Reunion of the group. That documentary gives greater detail to the points that I have made below and includes more on the genesis, early successes and the ultimate fates and health of the various members of the group.

Okay, let's have a show of hands. Who first heard learned the classic Lead Belly song "Goodnight, Irene" from his rendition of the song? Who from the group under review, The Weavers? Another try. How about "If I Had A Hammer"? Or the old Underground Railroad song "Follow The Drinking Gourd"? I suspect that I would get the same answer. And that is to the good. Sure, we have heard all the songs in this collection before by various artist like Pete Seeger as an individual on "Gunatanamera", Bob Dylan on "House Of The Rising Sun" , Tennessee Ernie Ford On "Sixteen Tons" or Woody Guthrie on "This Land Is Your Land" but we HEAR this music through the four distinctive voices of The Weavers. Thus the title of this entry- Making Joyful Music.

That said, this group morphed in the 1940's from a grouping, The Almanac Singers, led by Pete Seeger, with occasional assistance from Woody Guthrie that performed in New York City and other locales for the labor movement and other left-wing causes. The rise to eminence I believe, however, came with the addition of the lovely strong voice of Ronnie Gilbert that gives a very different feel to the music in contrast to the Almanac Singers. As a group The Weavers made their mark with a stirring, very popular rendition of the Lead Belly classic mentioned above, "Goodnight, Irene". Then the roof fell in. Between personal differences within the group and the pressure, extreme pressure, of the 1950's anti-communist witch hunt in America that looked for "reds under every bed" and that dragged Pete Seeger in its wake the group fell off the radar for a while (in Seeger's case a long while). Nevertheless this basic American folk music lives on in their voices and in this recording that sounds pretty good even today.

A few other songs from this collection also deserve note. The beautifully harmonic (and wild) "Wimoweh"; a nice version of "On Top Of Old Smokey"; a well done version of the currently very apt and appropriate Yip Harburg song "Brother Can You Spare A Dime"; and, as a finale "So Long It's Been Good To Know You". In the folk pantheon this group has a place of honor. Listen to this CD to find out why.

In looking for material to use on a local community radio folk music show, I felt it was time I used more of The Weavers. Although I had a few tracks, from compilations, I felt this collection would allow me to feature their music more often, and have already used a few tracks. While the recordings have been around for a long time now, I think the song selection is a very complete record of their gifts to the history of folk music, and would recommend it to others.