Few songwriters encapsulate the political awareness, ecological activism, anti-war sentiment, the embracing of traditional musical forms and yearning for global peace of the folk movement than
Pete Seeger
. His music has affected millions, and on
If I Had a Song: The Songs of Pete Seeger, Vol. 2
many of his disciples pay tribute to the songs
Seeger
has written or, at the very least, made popular. This release is actually the second in a trilogy of tribute albums from
Appleseed Recordings
that began with
Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger
and will continue with a third disc in 2002. On this release, artists like
Jackson Browne
,
Joan Baez
Billy Bragg
Arlo Guthrie
Eric Andersen
Dar Williams
Toshi Reagon
John Wesley Harding
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Steve Earle
Moxy Fruevous
, and
Corey Harris
pay homage to this legendary songwriter with mixed results. Some of the performances are truly inspired, such as
and
's impassioned
"Oh, Had I a Golden Thread"
's earthy
"Snow, Snow."
chooses a likely subject in
"Walking Down Death Row,"
performing it with his usual gruff earnestness, and it's fun to hear an older
harmonizing like they did twenty years ago on 1982's
Precious Friend
. Unfortunately, as was the case with the first tribute album, some of the tracks are a little weak, such as
John McCutcheon
rap version of
"Talking Union,"
and (surprisingly)
Eliza Carthy
's off the cuff version of
"If I Had a Hammer."
None of the songs are as great as the originals, but,
himself states in the liner notes, "the world is full of cooks changing old recipes to fit new stomachs" and "lawyers changing old laws to fit new citizens," and since this is a textbook definition of the folk music process rolling onward, it is a success. ~ Zac Johnson