Folkways Years, 1955-1992: Songs of Love and Politics

As a title, The Folkways Years is something of a misnomer for this compilation album because it is a broader collection, in which recordings made by Peggy Seeger for Folkways Records constitute less than half of the 21 selections, along with eight previously unreleased, mostly live recordings made in the 1980s, three tracks licensed from Rounder Records, and a sample from Seeger's upcoming new album. Taken together, the recordings constitute a musical autobiography that traces her interest in traditional folk music: her original, feminist songs such as "Lady, What Do You Do All Day?" and "Gonna Be an Engineer," songs associated with her husband Ewan MacColl, including "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which he wrote for her, and songs she wrote for each of her children. In her self-deprecating liner notes, Seeger confesses that for most of her life she has been unable to bear the sound of her recordings, which may explain why she has drawn so little from her large body of work with Folkways. Her thin voice can be an acquired taste, though her talent for songwriting overcomes the limitations of her performing ability.