PETE SEEGER: LIVE IN AUSTRALIA 1963

It is hard to believe that this is the first (and hopefully not the last) video recording of a live Pete Seeger concert at the height of the 60's folk revival that he was so much responsible for! If for no other reason, this DVD is a MUST for anybody who is even remotely interested in Pete Seeger's live performances. If you have listened to his live records of that period (et Pete Seeger at the Village Gate, Sing Out Hootenanny, We Shall Overcome, etc) you can now finally match images to the sound, as he performs the classical repertoir of the golden years of the folk music boom. To be fair, while Seeger is as good as he ever was, the Australian audience appears to be somewhat wooden, less warm and involved that one would have imagined (or seen in his later live performances in the US). Although Seeger had a large following in Australia at the time, it is possible that the songs were not as familiar to the audience as they were in the States (it is amusing to notice the absolute lack of reaction to Seeger's mention of a "young songwriter called Bob Dylan", who had just released "Blowing in the Wind" and "Hard Rain"). Certainly, when Pete sings songs that were also commercial hits (the Hammer Song, Michael Row the Boat Ashore) people in the audience sing, bob their heads, clap the rhythm just as we are used to seeing during Seeger's live performances.The bonus material alone is worth the price of the DVD: several Australian TV news interviews, each with one or two songs, a long excerpt from a live performance at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and a half-hour live performance themed on Leadbelly. A short documentary on an Australian traditional folk singer, produced by Pete and Toshi Seeger is also included.Altogether, with almost three hours of music, this DVD is certainly excellent value for the money! Get it!

Watching this DVD, including all the beaut extras, brought a magic period back to life. My mate and I, both Year 11 students, were at this show and I was almost apoplectic with delight at so many of the songs and scenes. This is a great buy for the nostalgia alone but much more in terms of the history of folk music at a crucial period, before it discovered commercialism through the likes of The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary and so on. The extras, including interviews, a very warm introduction to his Bandstand gig by Brian Henderson and a wonderfully informal studio gig are better quality than the concert but this is to be expected. Given the network bans and the political controversy still surrounding Pete Seeger at this time, just to attend was making a statement and his repertoire would have been considered quite edgy, and in some respects still is. The ABC concert video taping, while an inspired initiative, has a number of technical and aesthetic shortcomings (it was 47 years ago and Australian TV was just 6 years old) but it captured so much of the night and the time. The songs include the familiar, the unknown and some that were only emerging. To be honest some bits dragged a little, but I remember, as a teenager, thinking the same on the night, so it's an honest rendition. It's frustrating that the ABC cameras were so limited in their shots and we see the same audience groupings over and over again (Did we really have no sense of fashion at all in 1962?) On the other hand, Pete is wonderfully spontaneous but still utterly professional throughout a very long totally one-man show, with no props. Ignore the grainy B&W, the uneven program and those awful clothes - this is a gem.

I first gained an interest in Pete Seeger when I found him on YouTube, singing "Away Out There," but then You Tube deleted it from their files, so I had to buy this DVD to hear it. This DVD has the best version of this song that I have ever heard rendered. When I was growing up, I would often have to buy an entire album just to get one song that I liked, because back in the days of vinyl records, that was often times the only way you own the songs you liked. This DVD album has lots of other good songs besides "Away Out There," but it's still my favorite. If you like this, you should go to YouTube and listen to Arlo Guthrie sing "The Garden Song." It's the black and white version shown a TV special and he's trying to get the audience to sing. He tells the story of how he got stopped coming back from Canada. It's funny and touching at the same time.

I can recall sitting in concerts like this in the 60's and early 70's when it took a long time for the audience to react, but react they did.Coming from New Zealand and having spent a number of years in Australia from the late 60's, these were times that were a challenge when "do we don't we" "should we or shouldn't we" for events like the Vietnam war after having had our countries involved in the long running Malaya campaign.We did not have the same indigenous campaigners such as your Pete seegers and Smoothers Brothers or the Weavers but we still had a strong anti war community.Amazing what a country will do for protection of trade etc, sometimes selling its soul.Loved the DVD as it did bring back memories.

Pete Seeger was banned from American Television in 1963. As any great American would, he didn't stand for it. He took his act on the road, to the world. And here the great people of Reelin' In the Years provide us with the proof of his noble efforts, capturing an entire concert given in Australia. If a good man is never honored in his own country, Pete Seeger was honored in every other corner of the globe. The video is first rate, the sound is too. (Much better than on that 'Hootenanny' DVD. You remember Hootenanny, the ABC show that wanted Pete to sign a Loyalty Oath). Get the DVD. You'll see a great artist, a great spirit, and a great American at work.

In spite of being a bit grainy black and white, the flavor and charm of Pete still comes through. thank goodness someone had the foresight to tape it - probably one of the first ever concert videos! Just pure fun to watch - sure takes you back a few years (ok, more than a few). Any Seeger or Weavers fans will be happy.

Great concert. I enjoyed folk singers when I was growing up and this concert took me back to simpler times.

Von solchen Schätzen und Ausgrabungen träumt man: Pete Seeger auf der Höhe seines Könnens, in einem unglaublich dichten Konzert, von vorne bis hinten authentisch. Der Mann macht deutlich, wie wichtig ihm seine Musik ist, und er berührt tatsächlich alle Herzen. Mehr davon!!