A Moody, Sentimental Album, Album 1700 Is Good Enough To Buy!

The Good: Good vocals, Decent instrumental accompaniment, Lyrics
The Bad: Short, Very simple instrumentally
The Basics: A surprisingly rich album considering the instrumental and thematic monotony, Album 1700 is one of Peter, Paul & Mary’s best!


Folk music is arguably one of the less respected genres of music. I write that not because I have anything against folk (indeed, I am a champion of it who reviews many folk albums here on the site!), but rather because so many people have so many preconceptions of folk music and many of those people who have those perceptions tend to believe that folk-rock music died with the 1960s and there’s either no new good folk or no old worthwhile folk. That postulated, I have my own general theory on folk music: there are three types of folk songs – songs of social justice, historical location songs and emotional ballads – any of which may be presented either as a poem or a musical storysong.

I mention this at the outset of my review of Album 1700 because this album is very simple and it tends to be comprised entirely of emotional ballads. These are songs about feelings and relationships and those looking for the fiery Peter, Paul And Mary who stormed Washington, D.C. to sing for social change or against war, will find the album lacking something. Instead, these songs are almost homogenously songs about longing, loss or just grooving. It is a lighter sounding album, despite having some thematically heavier songs.

With a dozen songs, occupying 39:44 on c.d., Album 1700 is a mix of the creative talents of the members of Peter, Paul, & Mary (Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey, and Mary Travers) and covers the band performs which were written by others. Yarrow and Stookey wrote or co-wrote eight of the songs (Travers did collaborate with them on “The Song Is Love”). The trio provides all of the lead vocals on all of the songs and the instrumentals are all performed by Yarrow and Stookey. The band was not involved in the production of the album, but given how involved they are in every other aspect of the work, it seems reasonable to consider that this is the band’s musical vision being presented.

That musical vision on Album 1700 is a slower, more contemplative series of songs. While there is the upbeat “I Dig Rock And Roll Music,” that is the exception to the norm here (and it is the closest the album gets to social commentary in that it rails against pop-rock as a genre). Instead, most of the songs are slow ballads like “The Great Mandella (The Wheel Of Life)” and sad storysongs like “Leaving On A Jet Plane.” The songs are memorable, though songs like “Whatshername” and “Weep For Jamie” never became widely known. “Rolling Home” establishes the album as a more somber piece over all. This is rare for an album where the only instruments are two guitars, but this is the power of folk music!

In fact, even the songs that could be quirky by the lyrics are more melancholy in their presentation. The vocals of Stookey, Yarrow and Travers transform lines like “Jimmy I tell you we're two lucky guys / You've got everything that you've planned. / And all things considered I've done fairly well / I mean God's honest truth, man / I love Ruth and Whatshername? / I thought I knew her, Whatshername? / What happened to her, / I don't know why I'll never forget / Whatshername” (“Whatshername”) into more of a dirge. Still, the album sounds smooth and real and the vocals are melodic.

Album 1700 continues a trend in the music of Peter, Paul And Mary, which is to have the trio harmonize to truly draw out the somber mood of a song. Stookey and Yarrow have beautiful, smooth tenor voices and on songs like “If I Had Wings” they illustrate them well. Mary Travers becomes the perfect harmonizer and contrast for them with her elegant soprano voice. All three have an exceptional ability to enunciate while singing and they articulate beautifully so what they are singing may be easily understood.

And the band does have something to say. On Album 1700, it is almost all about human relationships (save “I’m In Love With A Big Blue Frog,” which is more absurd). Outside that song, the lyrics are poetic and meaningful. When the band sings “Weep for Jamie. / For the bones that tear at her flesh inside, / Weep for Jamie, / She lives in the land where her father died. / Don't try to answer her helpless call, / She can't hear your words she feels nothing at all. / With no tomorrow promised by today. / She's the child of emptiness and yesterday” (“Weep For Jamie”) it is hard not to tear up, the emotional force is so powerful and the lines are so sad. The songs deal with death, breakups and interpersonal change consistently on this album.

The thing is, the songs also deal with those aspects with a remarkable sense of poetry to them. Despite some fairly predictable rhyme schemes like the lines “Well, I see the ones who crawl like moles / Who for a front would trade their souls, / A broken mirror's the only hole for them; / And for you who'd exchange yourselves, / Just to be somebody else, / Pretending things you never felt or meant; / Hey, you don't live what you defend, / You can't give so you just bend” (“Rolling Home”), the band manages to have some decent poetry on the album. I’ve never been much of a fan of Bob Dylan’s “Bob Dylan’s Dream,” but the band makes it sound good here!

In all, those looking for a nonthreatening, though sad and short, folk album which focuses more on the human experience, Album 1700 might be the best standalone Peter, Paul And Mary did!

The best track is “Leaving On A Jet Plane,” the low point is “I’m In Love With A Big Blue Frog.”


For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul And Mary
In Concert
Ten Years Together: The Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern
In These Times
Carry It On: A Musical Legacy
The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary

7/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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If You Only Have One Peter, Paul & Mary Album, Ten Years Together Is Fair.

The Good: Great vocals, Wonderful lyrics, Decent instrumental accompaniment
The Bad: Short, Not all the hits from the trio
The Basics: While packed with good songs, The Best Of Peter, Paul & Mary: Ten Years Together is a bit anemic for fans of the trio.


In the case of Peter, Paul & Mary, I felt that when they were my Artist Of The Month, I did not have a chance to listen to nearly all that I honestly wanted to and now that I have my hands on a few more of their albums, I am bound to enjoy more from the trio. Unfortunately, the first album I picked up was The Best Of Peter, Paul & Mary: Ten Years Together. This is a compilation of arguably the biggest hits the band had in the 1960s, which means that it is woefully inadequate for anyone looking for a true career retrospective (for that, the easy choice is the boxed set Carry It On, reviewed here!). This c.d. is a reissue of an album released in 1970, which – ironically - was only eight years after the first Peter, Paul & Mary album release.

Ten Years Together is another example of how the enduring popularity and careers of many notable folk-rock performers were completely underestimated. The trio of Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey and Mary Travers had exceptional staying power, not just as cover performers, but as artists writing their own material. Ten Years Together is definitely jumping the gun on their career and those who are looking for a more complete collection of what Peter, Paul & Mary have produced over the years will want to hunt down one of the more thorough compilations. That said, all of the songs on this album are wonderful and illustrate the strengths and talents of the band.

With only thirteen songs, clocking out at just over thirty-six minutes of music, this is a terrible use of the compact disc medium, but a decent example of what Peter, Paul & Mary did with their performances. The thirteen studio recordings culled from prior releases include eleven covers and only two songs written by members of the trio (“I Dig Rock And Roll Music” and “Puff (The Magic Dragon)”). While this might seem creatively anemic, the members of the trio make up for it by providing all of the lead vocals and the instrumental accompaniment on all of the songs. The bandmates were not credited with production of the album or any of the tracks, though.

For those who have not heard of Peter, Paul & Mary, they were a folk music trio and their sound was unique. Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey played guitars and sang and Mary Travers accompanied them with her voice on most songs. The overall sound of the songs on Ten Years Together is indicative of the simplicity that most of the songs by the trio took on. As a result, most of the songs have the clear tenor voices of Yarrow and Stookey harmonizing – as they do beautifully on “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Don’t Thing Twice, It’s All Right” – or contrasting with Travers’ soprano vocals. The feminine voice of Travers makes songs like “500 Miles” ring and resonate and the way the band comes together on songs like “Leaving On A Jet Plane” gives it a flavor that the original – performed only by John Denver – did not.

The instrumental accompaniment on all of the songs is very simple, which makes sense when one considers that Peter, Paul & Mary were performing in the traditional folk tradition when they began performing. Folk music is designed to be easily remembered and sung, so it may be passed on easily and performed with minimal instrumental accompaniment. As such, all of the songs on the album have the simple guitars of Stookey and Yarrow without anything else clouding up their sound. This is not to say that they perform without any catchy tunes, either. “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” is instantly recognizable with its catchy rise and fall tune and “I Dig Rock And Roll Music” is energetic in the way the men strum to it. Even the slower “Leaving On A Jet Plane” has a recognizable tune that is accented by the guitars of the men, especially in the moments before the lyrics begin when the guitars are plaintively plucked like heartstrings.

But for those who know what folk music is truly about, the question has to be "how are the lyrics?" Ten Years Together tends to focus on social change and relationships, usually the loving relationships that have soured or been lost. While the writer who is best-represented on this album is actually Bob Dylan, the longing lines of others manage to get through as well. While Dylan's social commentaries are present and powerful under the voices and guitars of Peter, Paul & Mary, when they sing lines like "I ain't the kind to hang around / With any new love that I've found / Movin' is my stock and trade / I'm movin' on / I won't think of you when I'm gone / So don't you shed a tear for me / I ain't the love you thought I'd be / I got a hundred more like you / So don't be blue / I'll have a thousand 'fore I'm through" ("For Lovin; Me") resonate with similar force to Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's All Right."

Similarly, the band continues the trend of musical storytelling that folk music is well-known for. Most prominently on this album would have to be "Puff (The Magic Dragon)." This song tells a very sad, but creative story complete with characters and conflict and it is hard not to get a tear in one's eye when they hear the band sing "A dragon lives forever but not so little boys / Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys. / One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more / And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar" ("Puff (The Magic Dragon)"). While often considered a children's song, that still resonates well with adults and characterizes well the sense of loss of innocence that comes with adulthood.

Much of the album, though, has anthems of social and political change. While "I Dig Rock And Roll Music" explores the cultural changes as popular music evolved away from folk, songs like "Blowin' In The Wind" and "If I Had A Hammer" are strong antiwar and social justice anthems. And the sound good here.

Ultimately, the only real problem with Ten Years Together is that it is so short and there are other Peter, Paul, And Mary compilations that came later which use the c.d. medium better and include more of the band's hits. That was why I finally went with not recommending; fans deserve more than this after almost fifty years of listening to the trio!

The best song is "500 Miles," the low point is "Stewball."

For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul And Mary
In Concert
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern
In These Times
The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Decent Live Album, Mediocre Use Of Medium: Peter, Paul And Mary In Concert Flounders.

The Good: Good vocals, Decent lyrics, Entertaining
The Bad: Short, Irksome conversational tracks.
The Basics: A creative live album, these two-discs occupy more space than they ought to and the material does not hold up well over multiple listens.

For those who do not follow my music reviews, "live" albums tend to have a tough time surviving under my pen. My main gripes with most "live" albums are either that the artist tends to try to convince the listener that the recording is live with ridiculous audience-noise conceits, stories that replay poorly over many listens or dramatically different interpretations of the songs they perform. In fact, the only folk-rock live recording I instantly recall loving is Janis Ian's Live: Working Without A Net. The songs are often reinterpreted well and her stories are short on that album. So, when I sat down initially to Peter, Paul and Mary In Concert, I probably was a little biased against the work just because of the vast number of mediocre to disappointing experiences I've had with similar live albums.

That said, as I finish my ninth listen to this two-disc set, In Concert offers the best and worst of what a live album can do. As far as the best goes, In Concert offers different interpretations of songs that actually work well for them. On the Peter, Paul And Mary version of "The Times They Are A' Changin'," the group includes the audience participation and the result is a feeling that the song has the weight of a social movement behind it and that is wonderful for the song when one considers the lyrics. It comes across as a powerful song in a way that a lone artist or even the trio singing it does not otherwise convey. Unfortunately, the album includes the sounds of the crowd on songs like "500 Miles" which undermine the emotional impact of the song and they have stand-up comedy ("A'Soalin'") and dated, live interpretations that fall flat now, as the rock-bashing live conversation during "Blue" does.

With just over 81 minutes of music, In Concert does not need two discs, yet it appears on two discs, despite being remastered recently. The album sounds generally decent on compact disc, but because it uses nowhere near the capacity of either disc, it is a poor use of the medium (remixers Peter Yarrow and Lee Herschberg went for a literal transcription of the original album as opposed to upgrading the content for the newer medium). In Concert illustrates the band's tendency to mix their works with cover songs from other folk artists. The members of the trio - Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey, and Mary Travers - are credited with writing or co-writing eleven of the eighteen songs on the album. Other songs were written by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. Yarrow and Stookey provide the primary instrumentation with their two guitars (though they are frequently accompanied by Richard Kniss on bass). The three members of the band provide all of the lead vocals, often harmonizing.

Instrumentally, In Concert is appropriately stark for an early 1960s folk-rock album. The album features two to three musical instruments on each track and on songs like "Three Ravens" and "One Kind Favor," where the simple guitarwork is light and drown out by the vocals, the instrumental accompaniment is often underwhelming and leaves the listener with no real sense of tune or harmony. This is not the rule on the album, which also has songs like "Oh, Rock My Soul," "If I Had My Way," and "If I Had A Hammer," which have powerful, guitar-driven melodies to them that are easy to remember and pick out. But folk music of this era tended to follow the earliest intended principles of folk music: the instrumental accompaniment was intended to be simple in order to teach the songs to others easily. In Concert tends to follow that quite truly.

As for the vocals, In Concert illustrates well how Peter, Paul & Mary became huge in folk-rock circles. The men occupying the tenor and baritone ranges, harmonize beautifully with Mary Travers who is sings in the alto and soprano range. Travers is beautifully high-pitched on songs like "It's Raining" and the men carry vocals on songs like "Puff, The Magic Dragon" which lend that song a timeless quality. What Peter, Paul & Mary does exceptionally well is emote and articulate. All of the vocals are clear and crisp and when the trio is singing together, this is a beautiful example of how wonderful a band may be.

The vocals on In Concert are a fairly pointed bunch. The mix of these songs is largely one of musical storysongs, like "500 Miles," "Puff, The Magic Dragon," and "Jesus Met The Woman." While there are songs crying out for social justice, like "If I Had A Hammer," In Concert is more preoccupied with musical storytelling. Unfortunately, this also becomes a huge liability for the album. Tracks like "A' Soalin'," "Car-Car," and "Paultalk" are all more preoccupied with telling limited, sometimes repetitive, stories which do not hold up as well over multiple listens. "Paultalk" is a twelve minute stand-up comedy routine and while it is interesting, it holds up poorly over multiple listens. Indeed, by the third listen, the jokes about driving and dating seem dated and generic, family-friendly humor. Anytime one has to skip a track that is that long, the album suffers for cohesion. While this might have been a great concert originally, the recording of it works better as a rare b-side than it does as a track on a regular album.

That said, some of the original works by Peter, Paul & Mary work well in the live setting. While it is somewhat repetitive when the band sings, "Jesus met the woman / At the well / And he told her everything she had ever done / He said, 'Woman, woman, / Where is your husband?'" ("Jesus Met The Woman") over and over again, the story develops well as a musical-storysong, making it easy to listen to and enjoy. Similarly, "It's Raining" is creative and clever and the whole band performs beautifully on it. "Le Deserteur" is a decent antiwar song about a deserter and it has a strong folk sound to it (though it is mostly in French).

The album is not just musical storysongs, but the songs for social justice do tend to be more bias toward other singer-songwriters. "If I Had My Way" and "If I Had A Hammer," which both close off the album with strong messages of getting involved and tearing down institutions ("If I had my way in this wicked world / I would tear this building down" - "If I Had My Way") that enslave or ensnare people were both written by others. And while the mix of songs like "Blowin' In The Wind" works with "Single Girl" and "Oh, Rock My Soul," the social issues do seem to take a back seat to the entertainment aspects of the album.

Ultimately, In Concert is entertaining, but it unfortunately offers little else BUT entertainment. With so much time devoted to comedy and sound effects, it ends up with the same resonance as bubblegum pop; it's interesting to listen to, but it does not endure well over time or multiple listens. As well, most of the songs on In Concert end up on other compilations and albums, so it is easy to pass this two-disc set by.

The best songs are "The Times They Are A' Changin'" (Disc 1) and "It's Raining" (Disc 2) and the weaker tracks are "Car-Car" (Disc 1) and "Paultalk" (Disc 2). Worth one listen, but not the buy.

For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul And Mary
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern
In These Times
Carry It On: A Musical Legacy
The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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A Massive Boxed Set Makes Us Believe Peter, Paul And Mary Can Carry It On!

The Good: Great track selection, Wonderful duration, Wonderful rare recordings!
The Bad: Some of the tracks hold up less-well upon multiple repetitions.
The Basics: A four c.d., 1 DVD set, Carry It On is the definitive collection of obscure and unreleased tracks by Peter, Paul And Mary.


As I ended my study of Peter, Paul and Mary's work, I concluded with the boxed set that was the impetus to select Peter, Paul And Mary as my Artist Of The Month: the massive anthology Carry It On, which was brought to my attention shortly after Mary Travers died. This is arguably the ultimate compilation of Peter, Paul And Mary works, but it is certainly intended more for the enthusiasts of the band than it is for those just getting to know them. The reason for this is simple; while the album includes numerous rare recordings - like Paul's (Noel Stookey) standup comedy routine - it is not comprised of all the recognizable songs. Instead, this is an anthology of the most well-known songs mixed in with obscure renditions of songs, so the mix is a career-spanning collection, but some of the recordings are esoteric and weird and not the best foot forward for the band.

But for those who love Peter, Paul, And Mary, this is an exceptional collection, especially for those who do not have many of the individual albums these tracks are culled from. This is a mix of previously released and unreleased works as well, so offers a decent variety from the almost-fifty year career of this folk band. As well, the four c.d.s and one DVD are packaged with an impressive book which includes rare photographs and statements from other artists and reviewers. Again, this reinforces that this is more of a collectible and collection for the true aficionado of the group than those who are looking for a single Peter, Paul And Mary album to add to their collection. This is like the college course on the band as opposed to the Cliff's Notes.

The four c.d. and single DVD set includes over five hours of music and some rare video performances. Each disc uses the capacity of the medium quite well (save the DVD) and the four discs have a total of fifty-six songs. The fifty-six songs and five hours of music are arranged with twenty-one tracks (74:58) on disc one, twenty-three (75:11) on disc two, twenty-three (76:54) on disc three, and nineteen tracks (77:26) on disc four. The DVD has only eight songs and is less than an hour of material. The album is an excellent representation of how Peter, Paul And Mary have presented themselves over the years as it is a collection that contains both original works and extensive cover songs from other folk artists. As such, Peter, Paul And Mary - the trio of Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers - are not only artists who create their own works, but performers who have been known to make other's works recognizable and sometimes more famous. The mix on this collection is forty-three songs written, arranged or co-written by members of the band. The others are written by folk legends like Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Gordon Lightfoot, The Weavers and rising stars like Tom Paxton, John Denver, Buddy Mondlock. The recordings are culled from twenty-eight previous albums with three songs that were never before released.

This compilation also reveals how engaged the band was in making the music they made, though. Most of the songs feature only the two men on acoustic guitars and all three members of the band sing. As well, as the group matured, the members of the band co-produced the albums and they are credited as co-producer of this specific compilation as well.

What can one expect when playing these many, many tracks? First, Peter, Paul And Mary have a decent mix of social commentary and folk songs that are about raw human emotions. But largely, the songs are folk ballads in the familiar vein of "Puff, The Magic Dragon," "Lemon Tree," and "Blowin' In The Wind." This collection does an excellent job of mixing the social commentary ("Don't Laugh At Me," "Conscientious Objector (I Shall Die)," "Greenland Whale Fisheries") with the longing and emotional ("Leaving On A Jet Plane," "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"). The songs range from the dark and serious ballads like "The Cruel War" to the fun and playful ("Right Field"). This collection culls a good mix.

But it is all folk music. This means that much of it is instrumentally simple. This collection is largely like one would suspect form a folk group: two guys on guitars accompanying rousing or passionate vocals. As well, many folk songs - like the ones included from Gordon Lightfoot or Pete Seeger - were designed to be shared and taught easily, which means they are very simple in the instrumental accompaniment. That is not to say the album is either boring or devoid of melodies. For sure, my partner would agree as we have walked around humming "The Times They Are A-Changin'" for several days now and ever since I was a kid, I knew the tune to "Lemon Tree." But songs like "All Mixed Up" and "El Salvador" have almost no recognizable or memorable tune and the band adapts to that with more direct and empowered vocals.

As for the vocals, Peter, Paul And Mary is one of the truly most collaborative musical groups. In addition to tracks from each of the artists' single careers - they separated several times in the band's history - the bandmembers have a great back-and-forth between them. So, for example, despite possessing a great soprano in Mary Travers, Travers gives the men opportunities to sing in the higher ranges of their ability, like on "The Great Mandala (The Wheel Of Life)." Similarly, Mary Travers presents songs that go lower when she has the emotional resonance to carry a song. Tracks like "The Cruel War" illustrate her range and she goes from the soprano to lower ranges flawlessly.

Above all, the members of Peter, Paul And Mary are astonishingly articulate. They sing songs clearly and with an emotional impact needed to make their storysongs resonate. Newer songs like "Don't Laugh At Me" are sung clearly and it is obvious that the message of the songs is what the group wants listeners to take away from their music. And they have decent, enlightened messages like when the band sings "Don't laugh at me / Don't call me names / Don't get your pleasure from my pain / In God's eyes we're all the same / Someday we'll all have perfect wings / Don't laugh at me" ("Don't Laugh At Me"). And while some of the tracks are very specific - like "El Salvador" - they are all enlightening. After all, if one has to learn about how the U.S. Government operates in the Third World, why shouldn't it be in song form?

The only real drawback comes from the repeatability of the albums. First, this is an expensive collection for those who already have a lot of Peter, Paul And Mary music, as most of the tracks do come from other recordings. Second, some of the tracks are less wonderful upon multiple listens. I thrilled to the standup routine of Noel Stookey the first time I heard it (it is rather inoffensive observational humor that is still funny now), but like a lot of standup routines, it becomes more tiresome upon multiple listens and given that it occupies over ten minutes on the first disc, it is a long way to go before one gets to the next batch of music.

Even so, this is a wonderful anthology for anyone who likes folk music, even if it might be overbearing to those who are on the fence about this style music. As one who loves folk, this is one that I will gladly keep on my shelf . . . as soon as my father dies and thus passes it on to me.

For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul And Mary
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern
In These Times
The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary

8.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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Short, But Memorable, Peter, Paul And Mary Gets The Band Off To A Good Start!

The Good: Good vocals, Decent lyrics
The Bad: Short, Instrumentally simple
The Basics: A good, but fairly average, album, Peter, Paul And Mary introduced the world to the trio, but is very simple and very short.

So far, I find myself pleased with the time I spent listening to the works of Peter, Paul And Mary. The folk trio was influential on any number of folk-rock artists I listen to more regularly and before the last anthology I have to review by the group, I decided to go back and review their debut. Appropriately enough, Peter, Paul And Mary is the first album by the trio Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stooley, and Mary Travers. It also sets up the listener for exactly what they might expect from the group.

Peter, Paul And Mary is a blend of the works of the trio of folk singer/songwriters and more established artists. Unfortunately, it is also a tougher sell on compact disc than it needs to be. Dreadfully short, this is a literal transcription of the original LP (record) release and as a result, it underuses the capacity of the compact disc medium, which leaves many fans somewhat disappointed in how short it is. B-sides from singles released from this album are not present on the c.d. version and as a result, it sounds stark, simple and short. Even so, it is a fairly energetic start to the career of the band Peter, Paul And Mary and it illustrates a high level of quality the band had from their first moment on the music scene.

With only a dozen songs, clocking out at 33:14, Peter, Paul And Mary is a somewhat unambitious album, though it is very typical of folk-rock albums both of the time and now. Yarrow and Stookey wrote (separately or together) five of the songs, the rest are covers by established folk artists like Pete Seeger (“Where Have All The Flowers Gone”) or The Weavers or are traditional (as the medley of “It’s Raining” is). Even so, the album is not devoid of charm or personality. Yarrow and Stookey play all of the guitars and all three of the artists sing on the album. However, none of the trio is involved in the production of the album, so it is worth asking how much influence the band actually had over the initial sound of their works. However, because they continued working with Albert Grossman for several albums, one suspects they were generally happy with the results.

Peter, Paul And Mary is an album that spawned a number of recognizable renditions of recognizable folk songs as well as some truly wonderful originals. I was raised listening to a lot of Peter, Paul And Mary and when I picked up Peter, Paul And Mary, I was surprised how instantly the songs came back to me. While their versions of “If I Had A Hammer” and “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” are fairly traditional, the group gets creative on things like the medley “It’s Raining,” which takes the children’s song and intersperses it with other children’s songs and a hide and seek game. The song has character and the entire album has a wholesome feel to it.

This is not to say the album is without impact. It has punch, most notably in the slow, sad ballad “The Cruel War.” Written by the men and performed with Travers leading the stark and sad vocals, “The Cruel War” explores how a relationship is torn apart by Johnnie having to go off to fight. The song develops as a wrenching musical storysong over the stanzas from “The cruel war is raging, Johnnie has to fight. / I want to be with him from morning to night. / I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so, / won't you let me go with you? No, my love no.” to “Oh Johnnie, Oh Johnnie, I fear you are unkind / I love you far better than all of mankind / I love you far better than words can ere express, / Won't you let me go with you? Yes, my love, Yes” (“The Cruel War”). With Travers singing and the men harmonizing, the song is a perfect track, encapsulating the feelings of loss one feels with just the separation war brings.

The instrumental accompaniment on Peter, Paul And Mary is rather stark. While the album opens with Stookey and Yarrow enthusiastically strumming their guitars to wake listeners up to the song “Early In The Morning,” the album sounds just like what it is, two guys on guitars and three people singing. Songs like “This Train” are almost entirely made up of the vocals with the guitarwork being little more than frenetic strumming to keep time. The melody comes from the vocals that the instrumental accompaniment accompanies.

As for the vocals, here is what truly made the band. Peter, Paul And Mary have amazing voices, which are perfectly in evidence on Peter, Paul And Mary. Mary Travers is a delightful and expressive soprano and while she makes “The Cruel War” wrenching and sad, she also makes “It’s Raining” playful and fun. She has a dynamic range and the ability to switch her voice from fun and childlike to adult and soulful within a track, as she does on her call for social justice “If I Had A Hammer.” Not to be outdone, the men of the trio hold their own with wonderful harmonizing tenor voices. “Lemon Tree” is a creative and well-developed musical storysong in part because the vocals are so engaging and both Stookey and Yarrow sing clearly.

Peter, Paul And Mary is a more general folk album and as a result, it is more about singing universal songs of human emotion – mostly love and loss – than it is standing up for social causes. The group casts themselves as balladeers and they are excellent crooners. When they sing “I am a man of constant sorrow / I've seen troubles all my day / I'm goin' back to California, / Place where I was partly raised. / All through this world, / I'm bound to ramble. / Through storm and wind, / Through sleet and rain” (“Sorrow”), they make the specific, American references seem universal and they create a mood that anyone who has ever been alone is able to relate to.

That sense of the universal is what makes Peter, Paul And Mary timeless, if not as enduring as I might like. The sensibility is one that outlives the changes in mediums and the album has a very universal sense of time and expression that will make it an album most fans of folk music will want. The best song is “The Cruel War,” the low point is the less memorable “Autumn To May.”

For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern
In These Times
The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary

6.5/10
For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary (Almost) Truly Is!

The Good: Great vocals, Decent instrumentals, Good lyrics, Good duration
The Bad: Well, it’s missing one song I can think of…
The Basics: A smart collection of music from Peter, Paul And Mary, The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary does exactly what a career-spanning retrospective ought to.


When it comes to the enduring careers of artists who are generally acknowledged as masters in their field, a “Best Of” album usually is a huge anthology or woefully inadequate for the depth and breadth of the artist or group's career. After all, when one distills a fifty year career down to a single disc, things are bound to be missing. In the case of Peter, Paul And Mary, the group has a ton of anthologies and compilations where their older works are reused to make new albums. In the case of The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary, one of the most comprehensive one-disc anthologies of the band's career, this truly is the best of the group . . . though it is missing one of my favorite songs.

My father introduced me to the works of Peter, Paul And Mary at a ridiculously young age and kept them on fairly high replay through my childhood (which is probably how I ended up as a liberal as well as appreciating good lyrics over innovative instrumental works). Their reunion album included a song, “Get Away (To Get Close Again)” which I recall quite fondly. I would have thought this would have been a huge song for fans of Peter, Paul And Mary as it opens the new works where the trio came back together and it’s a good song. It is the only song noticeably missing from The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary.

With twenty-five songs clocking out at almost eighty minutes worth of music, The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary is a powerhouse compilation of the entire musical career of the band Peter, Paul And Mary. The album has both songs the members wrote or co-wrote like “Puff The Magic Dragon” and “El Salvador” as well as songs the band covered in popular or recognizable ways, like Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” or “The Times They Are A Changin’” (performed live). The blend is a wonderful mix of classic and recognizable, like “If I Had A Hammer” and “This Land Is Your Land” and powerful and worthwhile, like “Don’t Laugh At Me” and “I Dig Rock And Roll Music.”

Creatively, The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary is mostly the work of the trio of Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey and Mary Travers. While they might not have written all of the songs, they perform the lead vocals on each and every song. As well, Noel and Peter play their guitars on all of the songs and the trio produced this compilation. As a result, it is very much the album the trio intended it to be, including the inclusion of a work each written by each member of the band.

Instrumentally, The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary is a folk-rock evolution from very stark instrumental accompaniment on early songs like "500 Miles” and “The Cruel War.” On the early tracks from the band's first few albums, the vocals dominate Peter and Noel's acoustic guitars. By the time “For Baby (For Bobbie)” comes up on the album, the instrumental accompaniment is fleshed out a little with the presence of a bass and on songs like “The Great Mandala (The Wheel Of Life)” and “Weave Me The Sunshine,” the instrumental accompaniment is richer and sounds a bit more produced. But even some of the richest-sounding songs are produced to sound that way and the instrumental accompaniment is actually fairly limited. Chief among these is the live rendition of “The Times They Are A Changin’,” a song which has been close to my heart for months now. The instruments are a guitar and a bass (there is no percussion or keyboards), but the harmonizing between the bandmembers is so full that it easily sounds much more produced and orchestral – there is a grander sense to it – than if one strips away the vocals.

The vocals are integral to Peter, Paul and Mary and this is the ideal compilation in that regard as the recordings chosen use the band's natural and healthy voices. Mary Travers, as I have noted on some of my other reviews, got to a point where her vocals were occasionally squeaky and The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary has none of that. Instead, Travers’ voice is an exceptional soprano voice which clearly articulates and it emotes wonderfully. Even on “The Times They Are A Changin’,” her voice stands out as a passionate expression of the lyrics.

Not to be outdone, both Noel and Peter are exceptional vocalists with decent ranges. One wonders what “Puff The Magic Dragon” would be like without Yarrow's tenor voice and on “Early Morning Rain,” both men dabble in the lower ranges and the harmony is extraordinary. Peter, Paul And Mary is a true trio that works best as the three vocalists harmonize and there is not a single track on the album where they do not play to their strengths and they seem perfectly able to let each other shine throughout.

Perhaps this is because the songs are socially-conscious challenges to the powers that be or are equally passionate explorations of human longing. Most of the songs are folk ballads and the band sings both passionately and clearly. Mary Travers stands out with the men doing minimal harmonizing when she sings “So kiss me and smile for me / Tell me that you'll wait for me / Hold me like you'll never let me go / I'm leaving on a jet plane / Don’t know when I'll be back again / Oh babe, I hate to go” (“Leaving On A Jet Plane”) and the song works as a perfectly passionate cry for love and desire. Anyone who has ever been abandoned will feel the tug just hearing the voice and the clarity of the lyrics make it all the more wrenching.

In addition to ballads that make it clear that Peter, Paul And Mary (and those whose words they are covering) know quite a bit about the human soul, the songs are also about change both popular (“I Dig Rock And Roll Music”) and social (“Blowin’ In The Wind”). While “The Very Best Of Peter, Paul And Mary” is not the greatest concentration of socially-active songs, they make an effort to include obvious social messages. So, for example, they come together well to make the statement “Too much of nothing / Make a man fell ill at ease / One man's temper might rise / While another man's temper freeze . . . There's too much of nothing / No one has control” (“Too Much Of Nothing”).

The album is a very complete view of who the band Peter, Paul And Mary is – or, sadly now, was – and this is the ultimate album for anyone who wants a single Peter, Paul And Mary album. Anyone who loves folk music will enjoy this and anyone who is not already a fan will find this album is likely to make them one!

For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern
In These Times

10/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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A Decent Mix Of Socially-Progressive Songs From Peter, Paul & Mary In These Times.

The Good: Decent lyrics, Musically and vocally rich sound
The Bad: Short, Some vocal issues
The Basics: A good album, despite being more of a general folk album and having vocals that sometimes are less impressive than on other albums, In These Times rocks!


As I continue my monthlong exploration of the music of Peter, Paul & Mary, I am discovering that sometimes it is tough to tell the difference between compilations of previously released works and new recordings. For some reason, because the trio works with various charities and social causes which seem to get a cut of their profits, they often have wildly erratic liner notes. With In These Times, though, it appears I have finally stumbled upon an actual unique album, despite the varying copyright dates on the different songs. As such, this becomes the first album that was actually recorded by the Trio that I've heard, as opposed to the various compilations that have been dominating my study so far.

In These Times seems to be an unfocused album which is largely designed to remind folk music listeners what tumultuous times we live in. Recorded and released in 2003, is thematically diverse - within pretty typical folk music themes. Peter, Paul & Mary sing about the importance of unions, protesting injustices, and treating all people alike. As well, they sing to advocate ethnic diversity and reclaim social justice issues as Christian (in the literal form with the idea that Jesus stood for social equality). As well, they include an obvious attempt to keep kids engaged with "All God's Critters" and the overall effect is that Peter, Paul & Mary are trying to keep their causes and their careers alive. And they do fairly well with the album.

With only a dozen tracks (it's tough to say how many songs because the first song is a medley and the final track has a hidden extra song in Spanish) clocking out at 47:40, In These Times is only marginally the creative enterprise of Peter, Paul & Mary. As far as the writing goes, only three songs have members of the band credited even as co-writers and some of their co-writing talents are simply for rearranging the instrumental accompaniment to traditional songs. While the members of the trio sing all of the songs and Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey play the guitars, they are largely singing the words of others. At least Yarrow and Stookey produced the album, so this is apparently the album the band sought to release.

Despite the lack of unique creative sentiments to share, Peter, Paul & Mary make a decent outing with the words of others. First the album has a surprisingly rich sound to it, despite the fact that the songs are largely just accompanied by Stookey and Yarrow on their guitars. The pair produces the album so the instrumental accompaniment sounds more vibrant and musically complex than it actually is. They, for example, give a little bit of reverb on "Don't Laugh At Me" which makes the song sound more energetic and produced. Most of the songs are similar ballads that have simple guitars produced to sound rich, even though in the end it is simply two men on guitars accompanying most of the songs.

Even so, In These Times contains a few more energetic songs as well. For the first time in my study of Peter, Paul & Mary, I've encountered a song where the instrumental accompaniment forms a rich melody that is both memorable and dominates the song. This comes on "Wayfaring Stranger" and the guitarwork is vigorous and enthusiastic. Yarrow and Stookey strum their hearts out and the result is a fantastic song that is unlike anything else Peter, Paul & Mary have done.

But even on "Wayfaring Stranger," when the vocals come on, the instrumental accompaniment is sublimated to the vocals. Peter, Paul & Mary are all about a message (though the specifics of the message may vary with the album) and as such, the vocals are always produced to be louder than the instrumental accompaniment. On "In These Times," the band has great vocals which illustrate their collective talents. On the opening "Union Medley" they do rounds that end in harmonizing and on "Invisible People," all three harmonize beautifully throughout. They break up some of "Union Medley" with spoken word recitations of working conditions, but for the most part In These Times is musical.

There are, unfortunately, two notable exceptions. First, on "All God's Creatures," the group creates animal sounds and the song just becomes noisy and jumbled. It is not one of the group's best songs and unfortunately, following on the heels of "Of This World" which has a wonderful give and take between the vocals of each member, "All God's Creatures" sounds particularly sloppy. Second, the vocals of Mary Travers frequently sound strained and sometimes painful to listen to on In These Times. On "Have You Been To Jail For Justice?" Travers becomes enthusiastic and she amelodically squeals out her lines and that part of the song holds up remarkably poorly over multiple listens.

That said, Travers is not all bad. Her voice is clear and smooth on "Some Walls" both when she sings solo and when she harmonizes with Stookey and Yarrow. Travers has a wonderful soprano voice when she focuses and her voice is a decent contrast to the lower voices of her accompanying men. On In These Times the men, though, have their day. Most of the songs are dominated by their voices and songs like "It's Magic" are presented with a very mellow smoothness of the men's tenor voices that is quite memorable.

Thematically, In These Times is a rather diverse folk album, but it does seem mostly to be preoccupied with reminding listeners that there are causes for social justice that listeners still need to stand up for. There is a very classic 1960s mentality to some of the songs, despite when they were actually written. So, for example, when the band sings "Have you been to jail for justice? / I want to shake your hand! / 'Cause sitting in and laying down / Are ways to take a stand" ("Have You Been To Jail For Justice?") the group has a very different sensibility than the current (and sadly, more apathetic) generation. The band seems to be trying to pass the torch for outright protest onto the next generation and while the song is enthusiastic and fun, it is unlikely to sway many people not already inclined to actually stand up for justice.

My partner, though - who is ridiculously young I sometimes feel - instantly recognized "Don't Laugh At Me" because there was a popular Country music version of it. I am certain I will one day hear it, but on "In These Times," the song is brilliantly stark in a folk music context. As the group harmonizes with the chorus "Don't laugh at me / Don't call me names / Don't get your pleasure from my pain / In God's eyes we're all the same / Someway we'll all have perfect wings" ("Don't Laugh At Me") the message is clear and presented in a heartfelt way that more production is likely to distract from.

Ultimately, In These Times is a worthwhile folk album, but it is a bit more scattered than some works by Peter, Paul & Mary and outside the thematic lack of unity, there are moments the vocals crack and as a result, this is probably better for fans of the group than those just getting into Peter, Paul & Mary. That said, there is enough to recommend In These Times and anyone looking for a classic boost of folk music from the mature voices of Peter, Paul & Mary will find something to enjoy on this album.

The best song is "Don't Laugh At Me," the weakest link is "How Can I Keep From Singing?" more for being unmemorable than in any way bad.

For other albums by Peter, Paul And Mary, please check out my reviews of:
Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too
Lifelines
Around The Campfire
Songs Of Conscience & Concern

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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A Tribute With Peter, Paul And Mary Works Out Well With Lifelines.

The Good: Good duration, Vocally interesting, Moments of musical intrigue, Holds up well over multiple listens.
The Bad: A few less-inspired musical choices.
The Basics: A smart, well-presented album, Lifelines is a tribute from and by Peter, Paul & Mary and a worthwhile addition to any folk music collection.


I swear, the only thing that makes folk singers or folk groups considered immortal is when a tribute album is made to them. When I reviewed the works of Pete Seeger, I was unsurprised to discover he had at least two, including If I Had A Song: The Songs Of Pete Seeger, Volume 2 where almost anyone who is anyone in the folk-rock world covered a song of Pete Seeger or one he made famous. So, I was largely unsurprised to discover that Peter, Paul & Mary had a tribute album that they worked with other artists on, called LifeLines.

It might seem odd that I have picked Peter, Paul & Mary as an Artist Of The Month and after only one album (Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too was reviewed here!) I am already going on to a tribute album, but Lifelines is an interesting concept for a tribute album. Lifelines includes songs by Peter, Paul and Mary as well as songs by others either that the trio made famous or more recognizable OR tracks that are new to the band which the trio felt carries on their tradition well. As a result, Lifelines is intended to be a journey through a musical continuum of influences on Peter, Paul & Mary, influential songs by the trio and artists presenting works influenced by the group. It's an intriguing concept and for the most part, it works well.

With fifteen tracks (seventeen songs, two tracks are doubled up with two songs) occupying 65:54 on compact disc, Lifelines is a mix of the talents of Peter, Paul & Mary and contributing musical artists, like Emmylou Harris, B.B. King, Judy Collins, Carly Simon and Pete Seeger. The songs are all collaborative efforts, though a great deal of the creative control belongs to the trio of Mary Travers, Noel Stookey and Peter Yarrow. The trio (or members of it) wrote or co-wrote nine of the songs and at least one of the members of Peter, Paul & Mary is credited with a lead vocal performance on each song. As well, Noel and/or Peter play the guitar on all but one of the tracks. Despite the general feeling that this is the album Peter, Paul And Mary wanted released, none of the members of the group are credited as producers or co-producers of the album.

Largely, this is a collaborative effort and the gimmick here is that the band members perform with other noteworthy performers either who influenced them or whom they had an influence on. But more than just a folk music circlejerk, Lifelines actually is a vibrant musical exploration that starts with the folk roots of Peter, Paul And Mary and pushes outward from there. So, while the album starts with Buddy Mondlock's "The Kid" being covered by Peter, Paul and Mary in a very traditional folk-rock way, the album goes blues for "House Of The Rising Sun," which puts Mary Travers in a duet with B.B. King. And while the album returns to a very classic folk sounding duet with Peter Yarrow being joined by both Richie Havens and Carly and Lucy Simon on "The Great Mandala (The Wheel Of Life)," before it gets there, Stookey takes the album on a surprisingly fresh, hip-hop sound with his song "Old Enough (Ode To An Aging Rocker)." While the lyrics are not at all "street," the sound is very classic hip-hop, including the use of keyboards and more prominent percussion, which is unlike Peter, Paul & Mary.

Still, most of the album has a very classic folk sound to it. Take, for example, "Deportee." The old Woody Guthrie song is driven by the vocals of the trio with Ramblin' Jack Elliot. Yarrow and Stookey play their usual acoustic guitars and while there are faint hints of the credited bass and keyboards, I've not been able to pick out any percussion outside how the guitars are used to keep a beat. In fact, despite the credits for each song, the sound is often as stark as a traditional folk-rock album. The songs are largely driven by the guitars, which are almost always sublimated to the sound of the vocals.

As for the vocals, Peter, Paul and Mary choose good collaborators as well as performing well with their own vocals. Mary Travers shows no hint of the raspiness I experienced on Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too. Instead, on songs like "But A Moment," Travers exhibits exceptional range. She goes low and dusty and then moves into the soprano range and she does it with a fluid quality that is quite exceptional. She and Holly Near harmonize wonderfully on "Home Is Where The Heart Is" and she outshines John Gorka on "24 Green Street." It is easy to see now why the folk community is morning the loss of Travers, as her talents are quite evident on Lifelines.

Not to be outdone, Stookey gives an excellent duet with Emmylou Harris on "For The Love Of It All" and the whole trio harmonizes wonderfully on songs like "75 Septembers." Even when the music takes on a sound similar to Gospel music on "River Of Jordan" with a whole choir of collaborators, it never feels self-serving to the listener and Lifelines appears to be a genuine attempt to explore the full range of folk music. It is a shame the album is only fifteen tracks as the concept could have been fleshed out to be a truly great multiple-disc set.

As it is, Lifelines has a fairly classic folk sensibility in its themes. The songs are unabashedly liberal with songs like "Home Is Where The Heart Is" surprising me for its forthrightness (would that politicians could be so direct and kind!). The album has folk storysongs like "The Kid" and "For The Love Of It All" as well as songs which are more about the social message they are advocating ("Deportee"). But a recurring theme on Lifelines is aging as the group explores the effects of truly growing up ("75 Septembers," "Old Enough (Ode To An Aging Rocker)"). Regardless of how old some of the songs are, the band makes them seem fresh again on this album, especially Mart Travers's rework of "House Of The Rising Sun."

The most engaging song on the album is "Old Enough (Ode To An Aging Rocker)" which samples a hip-hop reimagining of "Talking Union." The funky song explores how music has changed and the progression of folk to rock to hip-hop. Stookey wrote (and the band performs with wonderful irony) "And now my kids are taking me to the shows / There's hip-hop, rap, grunge music I don't know / I like to think I'm still part of the crowd / But, how can they hear the lyrics / When the music is so loud" ("Old Enough (Ode To An Aging Rocker)") and it carries with it the essential difference between generations of music listeners. My partner seems astonished that I place such emphasis on what musical artists are trying to say with their lyrics; I guess I have a 1960s sensibility about such things!

What pleased me most as far as the lyrics went, though, had to be the pro-tolerance position of "Home Is Where The Heart Is." As we seem to live in times where the mainstream arguments against teaching anything about gay, lesbian and bisexual culture is that (apparently) it will corrupt children or they somehow cannot handle such things, "Home Is Where The Heart Is" wonderfully flies in the face of such sensibilities and advocates being direct with children about such relationships. Written by Sally Fingerett and performed by Mary Travers and Holly Near, the song has great lines like "Across the yard live Deb and Tricia / With their tools and ladders / And their room addition / My kid yells over 'Are ya having a baby?' / They wink & smile, they say, 'Someday maybe.' / But through their doors go kids and mommies / Funny how you don't see the daddies go in / My little girl wonders / 'Bout this house with no men . . ." ("Home Is Where The Heart Is").

Lifelines is ultimately a satisfying musical experience and anyone who likes folk music is bound to find something to enjoy on this album. As well, it is rather non-threatening to those who are not, traditionally, fans of the folk genre. Despite the instrumental simplicity of the accompaniment to most of the songs and a few tracks that hold up less well compared to the others, this is a great concept and a decent execution of that concept.

The best song is "Old Enough (Ode To An Aging Rocker)" and the low point is the unmemorable "24 Green Street."

For other former Artist Of The Month works, please check out my reviews of:
Break Every Rule - Tina Turner
Forty Licks - The Rolling Stones
It Ain't Easy: The Essentials - Wilson Pickett

7/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission


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A Mediocre Compilation Puts Peter, Paul & Mary Around The Campfire.

The Good: A few good tracks, presented well.
The Bad: Some of the songs are not the best incarnation, Duration
The Basics: Another Peter, Paul And Mary compilation, Around The Campfire seems to continue the group's love of filling the niche of children's singers.


There is something disappointing about going through the works of musical artists one knows to be prolific and finding most of their contemporary albums to simply be compilations of older (or even not so old) albums. In the case of my Artist Of The Month, Peter, Paul & Mary, I'm finding myself especially disappointed with the selection of recordings I was able to get in to listen to and review. My father, who raised me on a pretty steady diet of music like Peter, Paul & Mary and always had such an extraordinary collection of records and tapes of their works while I was growing up, spoiled me in that regard. But as I listen to and consider my third Peter, Paul & Mary album of the month, I find myself disappointed. Around The Campfire is a compilation of music by and performed by Peter, Paul & Mary and sadly, it borrows from both Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too (reviewed here!) and Lifelines (reviewed here!) which I had just listened to!

Around The Campfire is a compilation that once again is geared toward children. As a result, it borrows heavily from both Peter, Paul, & Mommy and Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too. There are only four recordings made for this specific compilation and as a result, those who have other Peter, Paul & Mary albums are likely to find this offers very little in the way of overall value to collectors or music enthusiasts. In fact, for a two-disc set, this offers appallingly little and one suspects that the reason the group went for it is that money from the sales of this c.d. helped get kids to summer camps.

Regardless, Around The Campfire is a two-disc set that features twenty-five songs over a combined eighty-five minutes of play. The songs range from classic Peter, Paul & Mary songs like “River Of Jordan, “ “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” and “Weave Me The Sunshine,” to others that the group made popular or were well-presented by the group on prior recordings, like “Leaving On A Jet Plane” and “Where Have All The Flowers Gone.” The group plays their guitars and sings and Peter Yarrow is credited as the album's producer, which is odd because several of the tracks on the original albums they were on did not have him as a producer.

Around The Campfire is a pretty mediocre and safe album of compiled songs. For sure, I was thrilled to hear the creative rendition of “It's Raining” where the song goes into a medley of several other songs. I remember that track clearly from my childhood. But if the concept of Around The Campfire is supposed to be either songs that can be sung around a campfire or are memorable for a context of childhood camping, this song stands out as being one that definitely does not fit the concept. That said, the album does include some real classics like “Michael Row The Boat Ashore” and “Down By The Riverside (Study War No More)” which make great campfire songs. And the presentation of “Right Field” would have been charming to me if I had ever heard it around a campfire.

That said, Around The Campfire is a musical mixed bag. The smooth voices of Yarrow and Stookey are consistent and even the performances culled from albums where the two were young still have a fun, grandfatherly feel to them. However, Mary Travers is somewhat vocally erratic on the album, especially in tracks that come from later albums. So, for example, her voice cracks on “Garden Song” and “Inside.” Still, she is creative and expressive and goes from a range of alto to soprano with a seemingly effortless quality on songs like “It's Raining” and "500 Miles.” Most of the performances are of ballads and the vocals that clearly articulate the lyrics are presented soft, slow and emotively.

As for the instrumental accompaniment, this is very much a classic folk album. The songs are presented with the musical storysongs accompanied by two guitars on most of the tracks. Yarrow and Stookey play well, but these are folk songs designed for the campfire and they are mostly simple tunes where the instrumental accompaniment is just that: accompaniment. Just as the lyrics are not terrible complicated (they are often repetitive as campfire songs are designed to be sung and taught to younger audiences, who seem to handle repetition well.

The songs are generally feelgood songs that would fit a campfire setting well and they have a wholesome quality that makes them rather unobjectionable. The album does not include anything terribly controversial and as a result, it is a good album for families. The songs range from the quiet and sweet relationship song “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and the social metaphor “Inside” (which reminds listeners that the most important parts of ourselves and others are on the inside, not on how they look) to the sappy romantic “Goodnight, Irene” and the lullaby “Day Is Done.” The songs near the end of the second disc are appropriately mellow and sad, like a fire is dying. “Leaving On A Jet Plane” comes on as a quiet goodnight and while I love the song, it just does not seem to fit the concept.

Around The Campfire is not a bad concept, but it is a poor execution of the basic idea. Instead of providing new songs that were presented as a live concert around a campfire including chorals and rounds and maybe a few stories, this is a bland compilation of (mostly) studio recordings of songs. The songs of social justice that do make good campfire songs (like “If I Had A Hammer”) are presented without any new flair, so this becomes more of a children's album than a true campfire album experience and Peter, Paul, & Mary fans have a ton of those (likely). This one does neither the band, nor collectors any real service. Moreover, two less tracks and this whole thing could have been squeezed onto a single disc and save fans shelf space.

The best track is “It's Raining,” the low point is the unmemorable “Somos El Barco.”

For other folk albums, please check out my reviews:
Any Day Now - Joan Baez
Many Great Companions - Dar Williams
God Bless The Grass - Pete Seeger

3.5/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here! There you will find organized lists of all of the music reviews I have done thus far!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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The Next Artist Of The Month Finally Arrives With Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too!

The Good: Good song variety
The Bad: Short, A bit repetitive, Some awkward vocals
The Basics: A largely disappointing and unimaginative children's album, Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too is riddled with vocal flaws and a lack of inspiration.



With the death of Mary Travers of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary following so closely on the heels of Michael Jackson's death, hers was largely neglected by the media. So, I opted to review the works of Peter, Paul & Mary to call attention to the classic Folk band.

Unfortunately, in the pantheon of great and worthwhile Peter, Paul & Mary albums, Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too is not going to hold up and thrill generations to come. This album, geared toward children's folk music, is not the best example of the talents of artists and performers Peter, Paul & Mary. From a PBS special, Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too is a live recording of a collection of songs performed with children in the audience and a lot of audience participation. The thing is, I grew up with my father playing a lot of Peter, Paul, and Mary (especially on long car trips - I can't wait to review the reunion album, because I swear I must have heard that a hundred times!) and what one ought to know about the group right off the bat is they have absolutely no offensive content. As a result, listening to Peter, Paul & Mary is not going to screw up your kids (though it might make them liberals). As a result, there is no real need for an album specifically for children from the band.

And yet, Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too is a follow-up to a children's album the group did decades prior that. It has a more mature Peter Yarrow, Noel Stookey and Mary Travers and it is a good blend of their work and those of other artists. With over thirteen songs (there are thirteen tracks, but some of them are blended songs, like the combination of "Somacwaza" and "Hey, Motswala" ) occupying 55:15 on compact disc, Peter, Paul, & Mommy, Too is a combination of traditional folk music and alterations by Peter, Paul & Mary. Classic Peter, Paul and Mary songs like "Puff The Magic Dragon" are presented alongside newer works like Travers' "Poem For Erika." As well, the group makes lyrical alterations to several songs on the album. As a result, the members of the trio are credited with writing or co-writing seven of the sixteen songs. The others are written by folk/country greats like John Denver, Woodie Guthrie, and Pete Seeger.

And while it might seem like I am going a little easier on Peter, Paul And Mary with the creative control aspect, so many folk songs are covered and re-covered by various artists that a group that has an album designed for children that has so many songs where the group actually had as much input as the trio does on this album is actually impressive. Moreover, some of the songs like "Right Field" are more obscure and are likely not overplayed outside children's albums like this one. The trio of Peter, Paul And Mary plays most of the instruments and they provide all of the primary vocals. As well, Peter Yarrow is credited as a co-producer on the album. As such, it is hard to argue that this is anything but the sound the band intended for the album.

The fundamental problems with Peter, Paul And Mommy, Too is that the album is designed pretty much only for children and while Yarrow may have co-produced the album, he did not appear to be looking out for Travers (or the audience) when he did so. On several songs - most notably the crescendos at the end of "Inside," "The Garden Song" and "Don't Ever Take Away My Freedom," Travers' voice cracks. Sadly, her vocals are raspy and she sounds like she is singing after a life of chain smoking. This makes some of the musical moments that should be enthusiastic and energetic almost painful to listen to. In "The Garden Song," especially, when Travers begins to harmonize and actually be creative with the harmonization she is presenting, it comes out in a way that is just a little flat and screechy and the seasoned ear cringes. Actually, as someone who cannot hold a note, it is pretty sad when someone like me notices someone's tone is off, but there it is.

Conversely, the men of the group truly step up on songs like "The Fox" and "Right Field." While "Right Field" is presented almost sounding like Kermit The Frog is singing it, it becomes a charming little musical storysong about a boy waiting out in right field to be useful to his baseball team. Similarly, the men are charming singing on "Inside" where they are expressive about such things as being quiet in the library and the like. The group does an exceptional job at articulating and for the most part, the music sounds good.

Even so, the vocals are not always wonderfully produced on the album. Take, for example, "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly." Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too was taped with children from a live PBS performance and taking the audio track from that, Yarrow and Stookey's enthusiastic and playful vocals are often sublimated to the sounds of children giggling on songs like "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly." It seems like the group is more concerned with recreating the live experience than they are with creating a work that will stand the test of time.

Instrumentally, Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too is a very mundane album. Most of the musical instruments are guitars played by Yarrow and Stookey and they are generally minimal musical accompaniment for the vocals. This music is far more about expressing something lyrically than it is creating an instrumental piece that resonates. Still, on some of the songs like "Hey, Motsawala," the group adds accompanists who play more intriguing musical instruments like the dobro and kalimbala. This adds a more international flavor to the songs and this opens it up to a larger audience who might not be familiar with folk music or whose knowledge of folk music is limited to American folk music. Largely, though the instrumentation is simple accompaniment and there are no songs dominated by anything but the vocals.

As a result, the lyrics become especially important on Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too and in the classic folk tradition, the album mixes musical storysongs ("Puff (The Magic Dragon)," "The Fox," and "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly") with songs about social justice ("Don't Ever Take Away My Freedom" and "We Shall Overcome"). There are family-oriented songs like "Poem For Erika/ For Baby" as well as environmental education songs ("The Garden Song"). They are inoffensive - so much so that they alter lyrics in "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" to keep the old lady alive and they have Puff The Magic Dragon still out there and happy in the world - and family-oriented and they are generally performed so they may be understood. Outside the accompanying vocals by children, they are clear and the work of the band.

But the work is largely unmemorable and having listened to it over a dozen times now, what sticks out most for me is how indistinct and generic the presentations are, outside their flaws. "We Shall Overcome," for example, is presented almost identically to how Seeger presented it on his children's album. The interpretations are largely blasé and leave the listener feeling unfulfilled and unenlightened. As a result, only children who hold up well with repetition and might not be able to pick out the flaws are truly likely to enjoy this one. While Peter, Paul And Mary have many great albums, this is (alas) not one of their best.

The best track is "Right Field," the low point is the unmemorable "The Eddystone Light."

For other, prior, Artist Of The Month reviews, please check out:
50 Greatest Hits - Reba McEntire
@#%&*! Smilers - Aimee Mann
Any Day Now - Joan Baez

5/10

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© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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