Search - H.a.R.P. Time to Sing :: HARP: A Time to Sing

Four of the giants of folk music and sociopolitical activism ? Pete Seeger, Holly Near, Arlo Guthrie and Ronnie Gilbert ? assembled in 1984 for a handful of concerts that were recorded and released as a 13-song album called "HARP" (an acronym of the first letters of each musician?s first name) on Near?s Redwood Records in 1985. Near?s recent discovery of a trove of unreleased songs from these performances has led to this expanded and remastered 26-song, 2-CD reissue, now subtitled "A Time to Sing!" Former Weavers Seeger and Gilbert, the irrepressible Guthrie, and Near had previously played together in various configurations, but never as a quartet, so there is much unique musical and personal interaction captured here. Each musician brought original, traditional, or contemporary songs to perform, which led to an entrancing program of folk favorites. The repertoire includes old favorites such as "Wimoweh," "Guantanamera," "Twelve Gates to the City" and "The Water is Wide," cover tunes ranging from Bob Dylan?s "Mr. Tambourine Man" (with riotous deadpan commentary by Arlo) to Steve Goodman?s "City of New Orleans" to Marvin Gaye?s "What?s Going On," and trademark originals by Near ("Singing for Our Lives," "Emma," "Singing with You") and Guthrie ("You and Me," "All Over the World," and the hilarious "Oh Mom"). Political and social commentary are the underlying texts in many of these songs, recorded amidst the havoc of the Reagan administration. "These were very intense times," remembers Holly. "There were wars raging all over the world. The women?s movement was reeling from the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. AIDS was new and frightening. The gay rights movement was in full force. Here are four singers, different styles, different generations, same tradition. This [CD] is live and raw and real. And when I think about how spontaneous this recording is, I am impressed by the skill of this quartet. These are people who know how to sing and what to sing about." With primary instrumental support by Pete, Arlo, and pianist/composer/arranger Jeff Langley, the four voices can be heard in varying combinations, sometimes uniting in a multi-generational rainbow of brilliant harmony. It was a time to sing and to sing out, captured for the ages on this invigorating and historic release.