April 25, 2006

New Music Tuesday: Back to the Roots

New releases this week lead us back to some roots of modern music.


Pete Seeger. No, not Bob Seger of Chevrolet fame. Pete Seeger has been an influence on music for years and years. It seems to have all started with he dropped out of Harvard in the 30's. He was aquainted with Woody Guthrie in 1940. The 40's and 50's saw Seeger be accused of being a communist by Joseph McCarthy. In 1958, Seeger set out on his own and perhaps helped shape the face of 50's and 60's folk music. Such folk classics as "If I Had a Hammer," "We Shall Overcome," and "Turn, Turn, Turn" (popularized by the Byrds) were written by Seeger. He was an early supporter of Bob Dylan, a friend of Johnny and June Cash, and continues to have an influence today.
Bruce Springsteen put together a great ensemble to tribute Pete Seeger. He brought in some members of the Max Weinberg Seven. The Boss brings his usual enthusiasm to the project and his admiration for Seeger in We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Many of the songs will help you recognize the talent that Seeger possesses.

Also new this week is an album of duets from Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. All the Roadrunning has some beautiful songs that highlight Emmylou's voice and Mark Knopfler's guitar.

Did you ever think you would see the tag "double bass virtuoso" in my blog? Well this week Edgar Meyer lives up to his tag with a self titled release. Perhaps you've never heard of Meyer, but he has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck and James Taylor. This album is all him. You'll get some folk, bluegrass and even some classical on this album.


1 comment:

Mark Base said...

I had a girlfriend who bleached her hair a lot. I used to find it cool when I could see her roots.