Springsteen Seeger Sessions

guildzilla

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Pretty much anybody who contributed on the old Folk Boom thread will love the Springsteen SEEGER SESSIONS CD/DVD. I think it was released last fall.

I got it for Christmas, and it is still blowing me away.

Bruce and this group of musicians do an inspiring job on these old tunes. The best songs are also on the DVD, which shows the songs coming together, including "John Henry," "Erie Canal," "O Mary Don't You Weep," and "Pay Me My Money Down."

Very special, IMO.
 

Guildmark

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There is also an interview of Seeger in a recent edition of Acoustic Guitar magazine with his comments about Springsteen's renditions.
 

Siwash

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Yeah, I've been listening to this, too. I like "Oh Mary" and "My Oklahoma Home". It's all very odd hearing this grand orchestration to the simple folk tunes, but Bruce knows how to do it very well and it works.
 

gilligan

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guildzilla said:
Was Seeger positive or negative, Mark?

I read that article also and if I recall correctly, my impression was that Seeger gave a pretty straight-forward politicians' answer. I was curious to hear what he had to say about it too because I think the Springsteen CD is great. Most of the Bruce versions are pretty rockin/party-in' kind-of cuts, and I think Seeger was a little disappointed that some of the serious-ness was taken out of the meanings/messages he was trying to bring across in his songs.

gilligan
 

Guildmark

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Yikes! :eek: I missed that question! Sorry!

Yeah, I think Seeger was trying to be polite in his comments about The Boss's covers. Like Gilligan said, Pete felt the purpose and message was kinda lost in all the modern versions of his songs. No one today is singing them to try to change the world like he was. He was even ambivalent about Kottke's cover of Living In The Country, which is a definitive, milestone arrangement in my opinion. They described Seeger as being pretty spry and sharp and witty still. Makes me look forward to moving up from geezer to codger.
 

guildzilla

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Hey, Pete Seeger is one of the great American troubadours, pretty much a hero to me.

But he can be a tad possessive about the folk tradition. Remember it was Seeger who threw the biggest fit and seemed to hurt the most when Bob Dylan played the HIGHWAY 61 stuff at the Newport Folk Festival 40-plus ago.

Other than having a lot of musicians and instruments playing, I don't see how the Boss can be criticized for disrespecting the meaning or integrity of these songs.

In terms of expressing the passions of the underdog, "John Henry" and "Oh Mary" could not be more powerful, IMO.
 
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