Track Listing

1. Old Dan Tucker
2. Jessie James
3. Mrs. McGrath
4. O, Mary, Don't You Weep
5. John Henry
6. Erie Canal
7. Jacobs Ladder
8. My Oklahoma Home
9. Eyes On The Prize
10. Shenandoah
11. Pay Me My Money Down
12. We Shall Overcome
13. Froggie Went A-Courtin'
14. Buffalo Gals (bonus track)
15. How Can I Keep From Singing (bonus track)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7902 in Music
• Released on: 2006-04-24
• Number of discs: 1

From the Label
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions features Bruce's personal interpretations of thirteen traditional songs, all of them associated with the legendary guiding light of American folk music, Pete Seeger, for whom the album is named.

Speaking of the origins of the new music, Springsteen said, "So much of my writing, particularly when I write acoustically, comes straight out of the folk tradition. Making this album was creatively liberating because I have a love of all those different roots sounds... they can conjure up a world with just a few notes and a few words."

Springsteen recorded the album with a large ensemble. The musicians on the record are Springsteen (guitar, harmonica, B3 organ and percussion), Sam Bardfeld (violin), Art Baron (tuba) Frank Bruno (guitar), Jeremy Chatzy (upright bass), Mark Clifford (banjo), Larry Eagle (drums and percussion), Charles Giordano (B3 organ, piano and accordion), Ed Manion (saxophone), Mark Pender (trumpet), Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg (trombone) and Soozie Tyrell (violin). Lisa Lowell, Patti Scialfa, Springsteen, Pender, Tyrell, and Rosenberg contribute backing vocals.

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Customer Reviews

Where did all the flowers go?
One thing you can't fault Bruce Springsteen for on this album is his energy. He attacks a selection of America's treasured folk songs with gusto for his first album of covers, and while the lyrics get mangled in true Springsteen tradition, the music and sentiment come through loud and clear.

One thing that puzzled me was the omission of Seeger's most famous songs "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", "If I Had a Hammer", and "Turn, Turn, Turn", especially as this is supposed to be a tribute album. "We Shall Overcome" is however included along with folk classics like "Jesse James", and real oldies like "Old Dan Tucker" (1843); "Erie Canal" a.k.a. "Low Bridge" (1905); "Oh Shenandoah" and the whimsical "Froggie Went A-Courting".

Fans of Bruce of the E-Street Band rock days will probably not go for this album, but Seeger and folk music fans will go for the nostalgic experience.

Brucey's Back
We Shall Overcome The Seeger Sessions, is a collection of 13 masterful covers by Bruce Springsteen. Going back to his real roots, with a brilliant band of local musicians behide him, Bruce dispels the myth that these influence/cover albums are all b*llocks. He succeeds where many fail in maintaining the original roots of the song, yet putting the trade make stamp of the boss of each and everyone. With songs like Mrs McGrath we can really see the influence it's had on his works such as Tom Joad and Nebraska. Shenandoah and Erie Cannel are two masterfully atmospheric songs, while Merry Wont Weep when turned up loud comes across like Bruce is playing live in your very own room!!! Very few albums can come across so powerful on the first lisen , and you cant help but notice each and every song and how great it sounds. Not what the average Jo on the street would expect from Bruce boy, but all the same class act and well worth the money!!!

Fabulous, exhilarating folk music - definitely Springsteen yet very different at the same time
This is a fantastic album of old folk standards given a faithful rendition from Springsteen the devotee but with that distinctive Springsteen treatment as well, and it works a treat on every single track.

If you don't like folk music - it's all fiddles and banjos (a friend described it as "a bit lumberjack-y"!) - you won't enjoy it, but there is a zest and joy to these songs that is exhilarating.

It comes from the spirit of the old songs themselves, Springsteen's infectious enthusiasm and passion, and from the genuinely improvised vibe of the performances: you hear the man himself instruct the musicians on whose solo he'd like next, and you can watch him do so on the accompanying DVD. (For a non-musician music fan like myself, eeing how the songs were arranged on the DVD was instructive, and fascinating.)

But for me the real thrills come from the brass section that adds a fabulous extra layer and flavour. According to reviews I've read, Springsteen was astute and knowledgeable enough to notice that when Pete Seeger was living and playing his folk music in New York in the 1920s and 1930s that big-band jazz would have been playing in venues nearby, and so he added trumpet and trombones to the fiddles, banjos, mandolin and honky-tonk piano. The blend is magical. When they blow hard for the first time on, for example, "Jacob's Ladder" - heralded with big cymbal crashes - the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, every time. The result is a fabulous hybrid big band/folk knees-up.

There isn't a duff track on the CD, and the extra DVD of the recording sessions is great.

But, have a look first at the 'American Land' edition before buying, as you get 5 extra tracks and some live concert footage that isn't on the original release (why, I don't know - was Springsteen himself in on this rip-off? I hope not.)

Tremendous stuff. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Trust Springsteen to breathe new life into old songs.