Search - Various Artists :: Best of Broadside 1962-1988

Best of Broadside 1962-1988
Various Artists
Best of Broadside 1962-1988
Genres: Folk, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Broadway & Vocalists
 
  •  Track Listings (18) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (16) - Disc #2
  •  Track Listings (20) - Disc #3
  •  Track Listings (19) - Disc #4
  •  Track Listings (16) - Disc #5

The Best of Broadside, Anthems of the American Underground from the Pages of Broadside Magazine. 89 songs, including some never commercially released. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place and Ronald D. Cohen. 5-CD boxed se...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Various Artists
Title: Best of Broadside 1962-1988
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Original Release Date: 9/12/2000
Release Date: 9/12/2000
Album Type: Box set
Genres: Folk, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Broadway & Vocalists
Styles: Traditional Folk, Contemporary Folk, Traditional Jazz & Ragtime, Vocal Jazz, Singer-Songwriters, Vocal Pop, Folk Rock, Traditional Vocal Pop
Number of Discs: 5
SwapaCD Credits: 5
UPCs: 093074013021, 9780970494207

Synopsis

Album Description
The Best of Broadside, Anthems of the American Underground from the Pages of Broadside Magazine. 89 songs, including some never commercially released. Compiled and annotated by Jeff Place and Ronald D. Cohen. 5-CD boxed set. It was a small underground magazine smuggled out of a New York City housing project in a baby carriage, filled with new songs by artists who were too creative for the folkies and too radical for the establishment. Underground--yet Bob Dylan, Janis Ian, Rev. Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, Phil Ochs, Malvina Reynolds, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Pete Seeger, and dozens of others first published songs like "Blowin' in the Wind," "Little Boxes," and "Society's Child," in Broadside. The Best of Broadside features 89 songs from the Folkways collection, tapes from the Broadside magazine office, and some tracks released on other labels. The set contains a variety of performers, topics, and musical styles that tell tales spanning the 25 years of the Broadside era (1962-1988), but many of them address contemporary issues as well, since the new millennium has not see the end of warfare, nuclear threat, ethnic conflict, immigrants' suffering, women's unequal rights, ecological devastation, and social injustice. This is the underground music that fueled the innocent-sounding Folk Revival on the one hand and the explosions of angry rock and rap on the other. The Best of Broadside brings an era, its musicians, and its many stories to a new audience. The extensive notes feature the graphics of the original Broadside magazine and provide information on the careers of its many musicians with extensive discographies, the stories behind most of the songs as well as their full texts. They also describe the dramatic history of the magazine itself--a remarkable achievement of dedicated musicians and social activists.

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CD Reviews

Superb slice of history
Mahir Ali | Sydney, NSW Australia | 09/22/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am sure I would have loved The Best of Broadside even if had been less innovatively packaged, but the scrap-book format is an excellent idea, and the essays, notes, lyrics and discographies leave nothing to be desired. (I have to confess, though, that I'm a wee bit concerned about the way the CDs are housed - I'm not too hot on the idea of jewel boxes, so their absence doesn't bother me, but some sort of protective sleeves for the discs would probably have been useful.) The real treasure, of course, is contained in the five discs, with their broad range of topical songs from Broadside recordings supplemented by a handful of appropriate tracks from other sources as well as a sprinkling of previously unreleased numbers. The likes of Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs are well represented and there are a number of fascinating contributions from the young Bob Dylan - but even more valuable are the songs by artists whose works would be hard to come by elsewhere, such as Sammy Walker, Len Chandler, the Rev Kirkpatrick, Thom Parrott and even Sis Cunningham herself. This box set is a worthy, loving and superbly produced tribute to Broadside magazine. And as a slice of American social history that captures the spirit of the times, it is absolutely indispensable - both on its own, and as a companion volume to the exhaustive (but less affordable) Songs For Political Action. Don't think twice - just get a-hold of it!"
An Altogether Beautiful Package
tom926 | New York, NY USA | 09/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Box sets can be like Christmas presents. Some of them are like that great new book you have been wanting. Or that video game. Or really cool and unusual stocking stuffers. And some are just like socks. Or underwear. Sort of practical, but nothing you wanna write a thank you card about. This box set definitely falls into the treat category.I grew up with an Irish mother who hummed traditonal folksongs while she worked around the house. Maybe that is why I felt right at home listening to these indispensible songs. Sure, some of the lyrics are completely, shall we say, emeshed in their time, some almost border now on kitsch, but taken as a whole, the music here is a powerful testimony to the ability to use songs as something more than fodder for product-pushing. There is power and compassion and passion and grit and resignation and tenacity and a whole thesaurus more of emotions and feelings crammed into these five disks. I love humming some of these songs at work under my breath, while I grit my teeth and earn my daily bread. Good way to keep sane.And the packaging! A good many box sets are somewhat tarnished by their disappointing packaging (the Emmylou Harris box comes to mind; stupendous music, anorexic liner notes). But the Smithsonian has done its usual superb job of putting together a package to write...well, if not home, about, at least a review in Amazon. The Amazon review details all the goodies, but the package itself should be commended for its thoroughness and sheer cunning ingenuity (it opens like a Broadside magazine). I predict at least two Grammy nominations if not outright trophies for the liner notes and the packaging.I have enjoyed the Harry Smith boxes previously put out by The Smithsonian Folkways people tremendously. If you liked them, I can highly recommend this. The two packages compliment each other nicely.Now, if only we could get the Britneys and Christinas and Hokus and boybands and all the teenyboppers who are currently ruling the airways to listen to this, then they would know that the power of music is not in the number of units pushed but in the passion and commitment of the artist and his/her song.Thanks Smithsonian for yet another treat."
An amazing achievement - worth 10 stars if possible.
Charles Maiorana | Washington, DC USA | 09/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the classic box sets of all times and is most definitely a "celebration of songwriters and their songs." It is thoroughly researched, contains a stellar collection of the classic songs that defined the times, and is presented in a wonderfully creative format that captures the spirit of the Broadside magazine. The 89 cuts on the 5 CD's are a treasure trove of songs by all the well-known and lesser known folk heroes of this very special time. Be prepared to spend many enjoyable hours listening to some of the finest early recordings from Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, and many others.I ordered this set sight unseen, and I was not really expecting to be blown away by it. I currently own a number of Bear Family box sets and other Smithsonian sets. If I arranged all these sets by quality, this set would not only be at the top, but would be a good distance beyond that. The couple of friends I have shown it to have echoed my feelings. In fact, I am seriously considering ordering two more sets before they go out of print in order to stash them away for my future grandchildren.Even if this set were selling in the $100+ range, this set would still be a phenomenal bargain!"