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Music CD - Bruce Springsteen: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
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Music CD: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $7.89
Your Save: $ 12.09 ( 61% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sony
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. Old Dan Tucker
2. Jesse James
3. Mrs. McGrath
4. Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep
5. John Henry
6. Erie Canal
7. Jacob's Ladder
8. My Oklahoma Home
9. Eyes On The Prize
10. Shenandoah
11. Pay Me My Money Down
12. We Shall Overcome
13. Froggie Went A-Courtin'
14. Buffalo Gals (bonus track)
15. How Can I Keep From Singing (bonus track)
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0828768286722
Format: DualDisc
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 2006-04-25
Studio: Sony
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Caveat Emptor: listen before you buy
Comment:
I love all of Spingsteen's familiar styles: the anthemic rock, the moving ballad and the acoustic folk of the somber Nebraska. This album, however, simply does not appeal to me on any level. Perhaps it is because I was expecting some profundity, some soul stirring interpretations of the more serious songs associated with Pete Seeger. Unfortunately both the sounds and the songs disappoint, and the blend most of all. Many of the tracks are folk standards of the blandest type, like the introductory Old Dan Tucker. The exuberant treatment feels wasted on such repetitive, nonsensical lyrics.
Some songs have a gospel undertone, like the classic We Shall Overcome with its soulful backing vocals, Jacob's Ladder with the rousing vocals of its gospel choir and the melancholy Shenandoah which is one of the few highlights. Still I prefer Bob Dylan's version on his album Down in the Groove. Others have a country feel like the authentic-sounding lament My Oklahoma Home with its powerful male backing vocals. Country also surfaces in the uptempo Pay Me My Money Down which is redeemed by an impressive arrangement and instrumental virtuosity. Others are really rock music, like O Mary Don't You Weep with its biblical imagery and the raucous John Henry, a fast-paced song with frisky fiddles and Bruce shouting too loudly.
The slower numbers include the brooding Eyes On The Prize, Mrs McGrath and Erie Canal, a song with lovely banjo that incorporates jazzy improvisations in the instrumental sections. The tracks that I would listen to again are Jesse James, a lilting, energetic story song about the Robin Hood character, and of the aforementioned: Jacob's Ladder for its inspiring gospel voices, the melancholy My Oklahoma Home, Shenandoah with its spiritual undertone and maybe We Shall Overcome. Emblematic of the work as a whole, Froggie Went a Courtin' is the type of folk song that ought to remain restricted to kiddie's records. The video material on the recording, conversations with the musicians and the song videos contribute nothing to ameliorate the disappointment.
Something went wrong somewhere. The wide array of instruments encompasses guitar, sax, banjo, organ, accordion, mandolin, viola, tuba, drums and trumpet, and the playing is mostly enthusiastic. The arrangements aren't always suitable to the song but not bad for the chosen style. Many song segments stand out for the appealing instrumentation. But the arrangements and instrumentation simply do not blend with Bruce's sometimes shouted & sometimes mumbled vocals. Judging by the reviews, this album is clearly enjoyed by multitudes, which I find incomprehensible. Yes, there's no accounting for taste and to each their own, but I am baffled as to why Springsteen fans would even find The Seeger Sessions listenable. Time will tell; history's verdict may be harsh.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bruce is no John Bon Jovi.
Comment: Where to start..?
Buy this album. It is one of the best folk albums I have ever heard. And they made it in New Jersey.
New Jersey.
Batten down the hatches, prepare for rapture. Things are not as we expected. I mean, this stuff is revelation.
Now, I have always loved Bruce. Really loved him. Especially Nebraska, which I believe to be one of the greatest albums ever recorded. But this tops even that. Utter authenticity. Like 'Where Brother,' but even cleaner. And performed with sheer virtuosity. This is what real music sounds like.
Let's just say that I doubt Courtney Cox is gonna get caught on film getting down to this..
Customer Rating:
Summary: the Ruth Crawford Seeger sessions
Comment: I rarely have to buy a CD immediately upon its release. I can wait. This one, though, I bought right away in April 2006. I still listen to it frequently, sometimes every day. It is terrific and I am grateful that these songs are available again for new ears. I want to invite folks to find out how Pete Seeger himself learned these songs, through the collections made by his mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger. All of the songs on this album are in the books she wrote preserving American folk music. Let us remember these songs and this great foremother of American music!
Customer Rating:
Summary: We Shall Overcome
Comment: If you are a fan of American folk music then this is a CD for you...Bruce and company do a great job and seem to be having a wailing good time while they are about it !!
Customer Rating:
Summary: blues
Comment: The CD is great. My husband loves it and is so happy to have it.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The premise was simple. Bruce Springsteen invites a dozen or so New York City musicians--packing banjos, fiddles, accordions and the like--to his New Jersey farmhouse for a three-day hootenanny, and tape is rolling. The results are sublime, his 21st album featuring their versions of songs harvested from Springsteen's dog-eared LPs by Pete Seeger. Not all written by Seeger, the songs are how the American folk icon interpreted them, and these organic recordings, with no rehearsals or overdubs, pay tribute with the simplicity and spontaneity he intended. It's not hard to link Springsteen's dissatisfaction with American politics to the protest song "We Shall Overcome" or even the Irish ballad "Mrs. McGrath," where he alters the lyrics to read, "I'd rather have my son as he used to be/Than the King of America and his whole navy." But the beauty of these Seeger Sessions are pieces that underscore the mood of the bandleader, which borders on down-home amusement: the bluegrass outlaw ballad "Jesse James," the Dylanesque "Pay Me My Money Down" and the euphoric "Jacob's Ladder," a gumbo-and-whiskey-fueled romp that could pass for the closing hymn at the Church of Asbury Park. --Scott Holter
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