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Hard, Ain't It Hard - (The Weavers Greatest Songs)
CRREV202
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Goodnight Irene
Wimoweh
When The Saints Go Marching In
On Top Of Old Smoky
Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
The Roving Kind
So Long
Hard, Ain't It Hard
Lonesome Traveler
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
The Wreck Of The John B
Rock Island Line
Sylvie
Midnight Special |
The Weavers are out of the grassroots of America. I salute them for their great work in authentic renditions of ballads, folk songs, ditties, nice antiques of word and melody. When I hear America singing, The Weavers are there. Carl SandburgIn the (allegedly) whitebread nice-nice late 1940s early 1950s, one of the biggest hit making musical groups in the US was made up of four erm...slightly odd-looking Communist sympathisers, one of whose biggest hits was composed by a Black convicted murderer...HA! you couldn't make it up, could you?..Hmmm...That's what the FBI thought..... The Weavers had perhaps the most extraordinary musical pedigree of any group in the history of folk or popular music. More than 50 years after their heyday, however, their origins, the level of their success, the forces that cut the group's future off in its prime, and the allure that keeps their music selling are all difficult to explain < as, indeed, none of this was all that easy to explain even at the time. How could a song as pleasant and tuneful and plain NICE as Kisses Sweeter Than Wine be subversive? The quartet went from being embraced by the public, (selling over four million records), to being reviled and rejected over the political backgrounds of its members, and disbanding after only four years together. Yet, despite the controversy that surrounded them, and the fact that their work was interrupted at its peak, the Weavers managed to alter popular culture in about as profound a manner as any artist this side of Bob Dylan. The songs that they wrote or popularized, including Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, Wimoweh, Goodnight Irene, Wreck of the John B, Follow the Drinking Gourd, and On Top of Old Smoky, continued to get recorded (and occasionally to chart) 50 years after the group's own time. As a companion piece to the RevOla release of their legendary Carnegie Hall concert, here are the big hits....from the mirror-dimension period when The Weavers were a top hit group on a major label and smiled at mainstream America from every TV set....until Senator McCarthy and his ilk stepped in...
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9.95 plus postage
If you like this CD, you might like this as well: |
The Carnegie Hall Concert (Americana/Unamerican? Volume 3)
CRREV165
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Darling Corey
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
Pay Me My Money Down
Greensleeves
Rock Island Line
Around The World
Wimoweh
Venga Jaleo
Suliram (I'll Be There)
Shalom Chaverim
Lonesome Traveller
I Know Where I'm Going
Woody's Rag
Sixteen Tons
Follow The Drinking Gourd
When The Saints Go Marching In
I've Got A Home In Tennessee
Hush Little Baby
Go Where I Send Thee
Goodnight Irene |
Formed, in 1948 in New York City, The Weavers had the most extraordinary musical pedigree and pre-history of any performing group in the history of folk or popular music. More than 50 years after their heyday, however, their origins, the level of their success, the forces that cut the group's future off in its prime, and the allure that keeps their music selling are all difficult to explain, as indeed, none of this was all that easy to explain at the time. How could a song as pleasant and tuneful as "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" be subversive? The quartet went from being embraced by the public, and selling four million records, to being reviled and rejected over the political backgrounds of its members, and disbanding after only four years together. Yet, despite the controversy that surrounded them, and the fact that their work was interrupted at its peak, the Weavers managed to alter popular culture in about as profound a manner as any artist this side of Bob Dylan, indeed, they set the stage for the 1950s folk revival, bridging the gap between folk and popular music, and folk and the topical song. Cut off in their hit making prime by accusations of Communist sympathies at the height of the McCarthy witchhunts, the group had by 1955 become a cause celebre, and were able to book a comeback concert at the prestigious Carnegie Hall packing the venue and performing their repertoire in a simpler more honest style than their pop hit versions....and the public still loved them! Rev-Ola proudly presents a legendary recording of a legendary night, in our series "Americana/Unamerican", in which the Leftist, unconventional, non-conformist, and just plain contrary sides of Americana are showcased - from The Weavers to John Jacob Niles, it's a wonderful world! The Legendary Carnegie Hall Concert, sounding better than ever on Rev-Ola! Usual lovely package!
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9.95 plus postage
If you like this CD, you might like this as well: |
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