VA - Songs for Political Action: Folk Music, Topical Songs and the American Left (CD 3 & 4)

Maybe it didn't bring about the social and economic equality that it strove for, but the American Left of the 1930s and 1940s did leave one lasting legacy: the urban folk song revival. The energetic, politically daring music of the Almanac Singers and its predecessors, contemporaries and successors continue to resonate through today's singer-songwriters.

Spanning the years 1926 to 1953, this set features nearly 300 extremely rare recordings on 10 compact discs. The songs offer a comprehensive overview of this enduring music, from the labor choruses and New York's socially conscious theatrical scene of the 1930s, to the Almanac Singers' influential, ground-breaking recordings. It continues through the war years and the postwar idealism of People's Songs and ends with the disturbing anti-Communist hysteria of the McCarthy era that silenced many of these talented, dedicated performers.

Disc Three is given over to the Almanac Singers; this body of work was recorded when the official Communist Party line (to which they adhered) was non-aggression against Nazi Germany. Some of the music on Disc Four ("Fighting the Fascists") was surprisingly complex, given the spartan conditions under which a lot of it was done.


Tracklist:

Disk: 3
1. The Strange Death Of John Doe - Almanac Singers
2. Billy Boy - Almanac Singers
3. 'C' For Conscription - Almanac Singers
4. Washington Breakdown - Almanac Singers
5. Lisa Jane - Almanac Singers
6. Ballad Of October 16th - Almanac Singers
7. Plow Under - Almanac Singers
8. Talking Union - Almanac Singers
9. Union Train - Almanac Singers
10. Which Side Are You On? - Almanac Singers
11. Get Thee Behind Me, Satan - Almanac Singers
12. Union Maid - Almanac Singers
13. All I Want - Almanac Singers
14. Songs For Bridges - Almanac Singers
15. Babe O' Mine - Woody Guthrie
16. Blow Ye Winds, Heigh Ho - Almanac Singers
17. Haul Away, Joe - Almanac Singers
18. Blow The Man Down - Almanac Singers
19. The Golden Vanity - Almanac Singers
20. Away, Rio - Almanac Singers
21. The Coast Of High Barbary - Almanac Singers
22. Greenland Fishing - Almanac Singers
23. The Dodger Song - Almanac Singers
24. Ground Hog - Almanac Singers
25. State Of Arkansas - Almanac Singers
26. Hard, Ain't It Hard - Almanac Singers
27. I Ride An Old Paint - Almanac Singers
28. House Of The Rising Sun - Almanac Singers
29. The Weaver's Song - Almanac Singers

Disk: 4
1. Dear Mr. President - Almanac Singers A
2. Belt Line Girl - Almanac Singers
3. Round, Round Hitler's Grave - Almanac Singers
4. Side By Side - Almanac Singers
5. Deliver The Goods - Almanac Singers
6. Reuben James - Almanac Singers
7. Boomtown Bill - Almanac Singers
8. Keep That Oil A-Rollin' - Almanac Singers
9. I'm Looking For A Home (Housing Song) - Priority Ramblers
10. Amsterdam Maid - Priority Ramblers
11. Song Of The Free - Priority Ramblers
12. In Washington - Priority Ramblers
13. Overtime Pay - Priority Ramblers
14. Quinte Brigada - Pete Seeger/Tom Glazer/Baldwin Hawes/Bess Lomax
15. Jarama Valley - Tom Glazer/Baldwin Hawes/Bess Lomax
16. Spanish Marching Song - Pete Seeger/Tom Glazer/Baldwin Hawes/Bess Lomax
17. Cook House/The Young Man From Alcala - Pete Seeger/Tom Glazer/Baldwin Hawes/Bess Lomax
18. Quinte Regimento - Pete Seeger/Tom Glazer/Baldwin Hawes/Bess Lomax
19. Quarter Master song - Pete Seeger/Tom Glazer/Baldwin Hawes/Bess Lomax
20. Little Man On A Fence - Josh White & The Boys (Union Boys)
21. Jim Crow - The Union Boys
22. You Better Get Ready - The Union Boys
23. Hold The Fort/We Shall Not Be Moved - The Union Boys
24. U.A.W.-C.I.O. - The Union Boys
25. Hold On - The Union Boys
26. Solidarity Forever - Burl Ives & The Boys (Union Boys)
27. A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore - The Union Boys


VA - Songs for Political Action: Folk Music, Topical Songs and the American Left (CD 3 & 4)
(320 kbps)