We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions | ||
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| Studio album by Bruce Springsteen | ||
| Released | April 25, 2006 | |
| Recorded | 1997, 2005, 2006 | |
| Genre | Folk | |
| Length | 60 min | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Bruce Springsteen chronology | ||
| Hammersmith Odeon London '75 (2006) |
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) |
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We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, released in 2006, is a Grammy award-winner and the fourteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen.
Contents |
[edit] History
This is Springsteen's first and only album of non-Springsteen material and contains his interpretation of thirteen folk music songs written or made popular by the radical folk musician Pete Seeger and recorded in an informal, large band setting. On it he hired a group of lesser-known musicians from New Jersey and New York, augmented by Patti Scialfa, Soozie Tyrell, and The Miami Horns, who had all contributed to previous albums.
To the dismay of some Springsteen fans, it was his second consecutive non-E Street Band, non-rock music project. Nevertheless, the critical reception to the album was very positive, with E! Online calling it his "best album since Nebraska [1] and All Music Guide labeling it "rambunctious, freewheeling, [and] positively joyous" [2]. PopMatters called it a "a sonic transfusion on the order of the Mermaid Avenue records" [3], which were Woody Guthrie songs recorded by Billy Bragg and Wilco.
The album, like its predecessor Devils and Dust, has been released on both DualDisc and in a CD/DVD double disc set. The full album is on the CD(-side), while the DVD(-side) side features a PCM Stereo version of the album and a short film about the making and recording of the album. Two bonus songs also appear on the DVD(-side).
The subsequent Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour took this musical approach even further.
The album has sold near 600,000 copies in the United States. The RIAA certified it with Gold award.
On October 3, 2006, the album was reissued as We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - American Land Edition with five additional tracks (the two bonus tracks from before and three new numbers that had been introduced and heavily featured on the tour), new videos, an expanded documentary and liner notes. Added sales were minimal.
The album won the 2006 Grammy award for Best Traditional Folk album at the 49th Grammy Awards held in February 2007.
[edit] Track listing
All songs traditional with unknown songwriters, unless otherwise noted.
- "Old Dan Tucker" – 2:31
- "Jesse James" (Billy Gashade) – 3:47
- "Mrs. McGrath" – 4:19
- "O Mary Don't You Weep" – 6:05
- "John Henry" – 5:07
- "Erie Canal" (Thomas S. Allen) – 4:03
- "Jacob's Ladder" – 4:28
- "My Oklahoma Home" (Agnes "Sis" Cunningham and Bill Cunningham) – 6:03
- "Eyes on the Prize" (Alice Wine) – 5:16
- "Shenandoah" – 4:52
- "Pay Me My Money Down" – 4:32
- "We Shall Overcome" (long story) – 4:53
- "Froggie Went A Courtin'" – 4:33
[edit] DualDisc additional tracks
- "Buffalo Gals" -
- "How Can I Keep From Singing" (attr. Robert Wadsworth Lowry) -
[edit] American Land Edition additional tracks
- "Buffalo Gals" -
- "How Can I Keep From Singing" (attr. Robert Wadsworth Lowry) -
- "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live" (Blind Alfred Reed, Bruce Springsteen) -
- "Bring ’em Home" (Pete Seeger) -
- "American Land" (Bruce Springsteen) -
[edit] Album Charts
| U.S. Billboard 200 Album Chart + Week Sales (I) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position (Sales) | 3 (149,713) | 9 (75,133) | 11 (70,708) | 19 (37,978) | 27 (31,823) | 28 (25,881) | 33 (24,752) | 31 (31,498) | 44 (19,493) | 57 (16,260) | 70 (13,110) | 78 (11,989) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Billboard 200 Album Chart + Week Sales (II) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position (Sales) | 92 (9,795) | 110 (8,109) | 131 (6,795) | 136 (6,212) | 144 (5,713) | 161 (5,036) | 164 (5,020) | 165 (4,751) | out 200 (?) | out 200 (?) | out 200 (3,383) | 111 (9,342) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Billboard 200 Album Chart + Week Sales (III) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position (Sales) | 159 (6,000 aprox) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At November 2006, the album has sold near 600,000 copies in the United States.
[edit] Personnel
- Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, B3 organ, and percussion
- Sam Bardfeld – violin
- Art Baron – tuba
- Frank Bruno – guitar
- Jeremy Chatzky – upright bass
- Mark Clifford – banjo
- Larry Eagle – drums and percussion
- Charles Giordano – B3 organ, piano, and accordion
- Ed Manion – saxophone
- Mark Pender – trumpet, backing vocals
- Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg – trombone, backing vocals
- Patti Scialfa – backing vocals
- Soozie Tyrell – violin, backing vocals
[edit] External links
- Brucebase - Detailed info about the ablum's recording sessions
- Springsteen Lyrics - Lyrics and and detailed info to all Seeger Sessions songs
- Bruce is the boss album review
- Bruce Springsteen essay
- Dave Marsh's liner notes
- The Songs of the Seeger Sessions
- SpringsteenTracker.com: Track your Springsteen Live Legacy
- SpringsteenEsque: The Springsteen Blog
