Headlines and Footnotes: Collection of Topical Songs

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The broadsides found on Folkways' second collection of Pete Seeger topical tunes are less broad than those found on its predecessor, If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle. Where the earlier collection was laden with sweeping civil rights, labor, and antiwar songs, Headlines & Footnotes' selections are often drawn from specific events. "The Titanic" is a 1957 recording of the famed ode to the great ship. Woody Guthrie's "The Sinking of the Reuben James" was inspired by the sinking of a U.S. destroyer by the Nazis. "The Battle of Maxton Field" chronicles a confrontation between Klansmen and Native Americans. The generously annotated 23-song anthology contains a number of Seeger standards, including "Little Boxes," "The Bells of Rhymney," "Guantanamera," and "Wimoweh." Folkways controls a vast store of Seeger recordings made between the '40s and '70s. Headlines & Footnotes indicates they're in good hands. --Steven Stolder

Album Description
For nearly 60 years Pete Seeger, with his banjo and 12-string guitar, has made music which inspires people to improve their lives and world. Selections on this anthology, culled from the hundreds Seeger recorded for Folkways Records between 1955 and 1999, include concert and studio recordings about prominent events and themes of the twentieth century: the Spanish Civil War, union organizing, and the civil rights and antiwar movements. Eleven previously unreleased tracks (one recorded in 1999). 74 minutes.

Headlines and Footnotes: Collection of Topical Songs, Music, Pete Seeger, Children's Folk, Folk, Folk & Traditional, Folk Revival, Folksongs, Political Folk, Pop, Popular Music, Traditional Folk

Average customer rating:

Wonderful collection of story songs

An essential album by an essential artist.

Headlines and Footnotes: Collection of Topical Songs
Pete Seeger
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
Revival | Folk | Styles | Music
General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Folk Music | Children's Music | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00000IWNA
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

Peg And Awl
The Titanic
Sinking Of The Reuben James
Listen Mr. Bilbo
Hold The Line
Passing Through
Coal Creek March/Payday At Coal Creek/Roll Down The Line
I Come And Stand At Every Door
Times A-Getting Hard
Little Boxes
From Way Up Here
The Battle Of Maxton Field
My Get Up And Go
The Bells Of Rhymney
Waist Deep In The Big Muddy
Guantanamera
There Once Was A Woman Who Swallowed A Lie
Wasn't That A Time
Viva La Quince Brigada
Wimoweh
English Is Cuh-Ray-Zee
Odds On Favorite
A Little Of This And That

Amazon.com

The broadsides found on Folkways' second collection of Pete Seeger topical tunes are less broad than those found on its predecessor, If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle. Where the earlier collection was laden with sweeping civil rights, labor, and antiwar songs, Headlines & Footnotes' selections are often drawn from specific events. "The Titanic" is a 1957 recording of the famed ode to the great ship. Woody Guthrie's "The Sinking of the Reuben James" was inspired by the sinking of a U.S. destroyer by the Nazis. "The Battle of Maxton Field" chronicles a confrontation between Klansmen and Native Americans. The generously annotated 23-song anthology contains a number of Seeger standards, including "Little Boxes," "The Bells of Rhymney," "Guantanamera," and "Wimoweh." Folkways controls a vast store of Seeger recordings made between the '40s and '70s. Headlines & Footnotes indicates they're in good hands. --Steven Stolder

Album Description

For nearly 60 years Pete Seeger, with his banjo and 12-string guitar, has made music which inspires people to improve their lives and world. Selections on this anthology, culled from the hundreds Seeger recorded for Folkways Records between 1955 and 1999, include concert and studio recordings about prominent events and themes of the twentieth century: the Spanish Civil War, union organizing, and the civil rights and antiwar movements. Eleven previously unreleased tracks (one recorded in 1999). 74 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful collection of story songs.......2003-08-11

This may be considered as a companion volume to another fine Pete Seeger compilation, If I had a hammer - songs of hope and struggle, which I've already reviewed. Whereas that compilation was firmly focused on political songs, this one is billed as a collection of topical songs, but many of the topics on these songs are political anyway.

Of course, there are a few non-political songs, like The Titanic, perhaps the most famous sunken ship. It's not the only sunken ship to get a song here, but unlike the Titanic, the sinking of the Reuben James is a political story, as it was the first American ship torpedoed by the Germans in World War II.

Little boxes was inspired by urban sprawl. Its writer, Malvina Reynolds, had offered the song to several other folk singers and groups before it came to Pete's attention. Pete loved it immediately and it has become one of his most famous recordings. Sadly, it is even more relevant today than it was forty years ago, as urban sprawl continues to eat up the countryside. Unlike so many of Pete's political songs, Little boxes is a song that many people can relate to, whatever their political believes, because it merely states the problem and offers neither cause nor solution.

There are many other excellent songs here. All the essential Pete Seeger songs can be found here or on the other compilation, If I had a hammer - songs of hope and struggle.

An essential album by an essential artist........2000-07-05

There are many albums out there by Pete Seeger, and this one is one of my favorites. It has songs written by Woody Guthrie and others, but also features many Seeger staples, such as "Guantanamera" "Bells Of Rhymney" "Wimoweh" and "Little Boxes." Seeger is an artist that needs to be heard and he is getting that respect by the release of this and other Seeger classics.

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