Pete Seeger: At 89

At 89
Label: Appleseed Recordings
Release Date: Sept. 30, 2008

American icon Pete Seeger is enjoying a renewed popularity, thanks in part to Bruce Springsteen's CD "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" and the recent PBS documentary "Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song". Now at 89 years of age he is set to release a brand new CD on Appleseed Recordings, aptly titled "At 89".

It includes 26 tracks never previously recorded, and serves to remind us of just how an important and vital artist Pete was and remains. Even at this late stage in life Pete's refusal to mellow and back down from the social and political issues that plague us, inspires by example. But it is his ability to intertwine pointed criticism with uplifting songs of pure joy that has been his calling card for over 60 decades and this disc holds true to that pattern.

The CD is sequenced with brief interludes of banjo instrumentals and spoken word intros. If anyone has ever been fortunate enough to see Pete perform live they know that it is his mission in life to get people involved, be it by sing-a-longs or by impassioned pleas to become active participants in their communities by helping put an end to war or saving the planet. Songs like, "Throw Away The Shad Net", and "If It Can't Be Reduced", make the listener aware of their need to take whatever steps they can to protect the environment. The updating of "Waist Deep In The Big Muddy", originally composed during the Viet Nam War now belongs to a new generation in the midst of the Iraq War. Pete is joined by friends and family like violinist Sara Milonovich, the Hudson River Sloop Singers, niece Sonya Cohen and producer/musician David Bernz.