Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Old Dan Tucker
2. Jesse James
3. Mrs McGrath
4. O Mary Don't You Weep
5. John Henry
6. Erie Canal
7. Jacob's 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
15. How Can I Keep From Singing
16. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live
17. Bring 'Em Home
18. American Land

Disc 2:

1. DVD Exclusive 40 Minute "Making Of..." Film. Includes filmed performances of:
2. John Henry (DVD)
3. Pay Me My Money Down (DVD)
4. Buffalo Gals (DVD)
5. Erie Canal (DVD)
6. O Mary Don't You Weep (DVD)
7. Jacob's Ladder (DVD)
8. Froggie Went A Courtin' (DVD)
9. Shenandoah (DVD)
10. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live (new live tour video)
11. Bring' Em Home (new live tour video)
12. American Land (new live tour video)
13. Pay Me My Money Down (new live tour video)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1815 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: CD+DVD

Amazon.co.uk Review
The premise was simple. Bruce Springsteen invites a dozen or so New York City musicians--packing banjos, fiddles, accordions and the like--to his New Jersey farmhouse for a three-day hootenanny and leaves the tape rolling. The results are sublime, his 21st album featuring their versions of songs harvested from Springsteen's dog-eared LPs by Pete Seeger. Not all written by Seeger, the songs are how the American folk icon interpreted them, and these organic recordings, with no rehearsals or overdubs, pay tribute with the simplicity and spontaneity he intended. It's not hard to link Springsteen's dissatisfaction with American politics to the protest song "We Shall Overcome" or even the Irish ballad "Mrs McGrath," where he alters the lyrics to read, "I'd rather have my son as he used to be/Than the King of America and his whole navy." But the beauty of these Seeger Sessions are pieces that underscore the mood of the bandleader, which borders on down-home amusement: the bluegrass outlaw ballad "Jesse James," the Dylanesque "Pay Me My Money Down" and the euphoric "Jacob's Ladder," a gumbo-and-whiskey-fueled romp that could pass for the closing hymn at the Church of Asbury Park. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews

Sheer joy
This is rated as 5 stars only because I cannot award it more - the album is a sheer joy to listen to. I knew nothing about it until I was taken to the recent Wembley gig - (question - "would you like to go to Springsteen" - answer "yes" - but not knowing at all what I was expecting!) - the concert was about the most fun one I have ever been to - Bruce and his band were clearly have a whale of a time and that was echoed by the audience. I came away with the songs (especially Pay Me My Money Down and Erie Canal) running through my head - promptly got on the PC and ordered the album - it's hardly been off the player since. Do go for this version - you get 5 extra tracks which are well worth it - and an extended DVD. Several friends are getting this for Christmas!

Only complaint - bad packaging - the cardboard has already begun to tear - looks good but is impractical for an album you will want to play over and over and over.

Go and buy NOW!!!!

Wonderful, exhilarating - still definitely Springsteen and yet very different
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. Plus, buy this version, 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.) One of these extra tracks is an old Vietnam protest song updated for the Iraq war called "Bring 'em home" (i.e. 'our' boys and girls in the armed forces). Unfortunately, neither of Springsteen's two specially written new verses explain how this policy will help the poor, innocent Iraqis caught up in the politicians "testing their grand theories"...

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

Seeger sessions
This is such a good album. You cannot help but tap your feet along with each song and come off finishing the album with a big grin on your face It is good, simple, fun music. I love that you can hear the songs actually being performed and developing rather than a sterile studio album and it seems pretty obvious that a lot of fun was had making this music. The DVD is great to watch to soak up the atmosphere the music was played in and to see the group interaction. Bruce seems to be getting better and better and this is no exception.