From his first group in New York City with Woody Guthrie and others called the Almanac Singers, the work with the Weavers, and his amazing solo career, Pete's voice has become one of the most recognisable symbols of the fight for social justice in America. Playing in work camps during the Depression, at union rallies when you could still be shot for being in a union, singing the songs of The International Brigade who fought in Spain against Franco, and the music of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, his high tenor, and banjo have been a continual part of the soundscape that's called for change.
For all of Pete Seeger's supposed public acceptance he has still never received the same sort of recognition as his famous contemporary. Tribute albums to Woody Guthrie have, deservedly, been made countless times over in the past twenty years with contributions from people like Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, and others. Finally in the past year we've started to see some of the same for Pete with the release of Springsteen's The Seeger Sessions.
With far less fanfare there have also been some releases of the man himself singing his own work. One of the more interesting ones comes from a Spanish label, Disc Medi, which has released a double disc entitled Brothers and Sisters, the title of which comes from a line in what might arguably be Seeger's best known song, "If I Had A Hammer," co-written with Weavers band mate Lee Hays.
The line in fact says so much about Pete Seeger's attitude that it could well be his epitaph: "It's the song about the love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land." Tolerance and reaching out one's hand to walk hand in hand with the person beside you are the lessons he has preached his whole life. It's not his fault that too many in the world have been too cynical to listen or accept that teaching.
Some might question why we need another recording of Pete Seeger singing songs like "Where Have All The Flowers Gone", "The Big Rock Candy Mountain", "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream," and "Study War No More" and I'd answer we can never have enough recordings of Pete or anybody singing those songs. But for those who need an excuse to make a collection special, the second disc contains recordings that are not going to be familiar to today's audiences.
While some of the titles might be familiar, the arrangements are going to be awfully disconcerting at first listen. To hear Woody Guthrie's dust bowl classic "So Long It's Been Good To Know You" performed with full orchestration a la the best Tin Pan Alley tradition is a little strange. But the first eleven songs on disc two are taken from old Weavers recordings and concerts and that's how they were being packaged and presented by the record companies of the day.
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