Best of Decca Years
The Weavers--comprised of Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert--were the most important group of the folk revival. They helped invent hootenany culture, and charged it with a political urgency. They sang everything: Maoist anthems, civil rights hymns, even children's songs like "If I Had a Hammer." The Decca recordings are historic but not always indicative of the Weavers art. "Tzena, Tzena" and "Goodnight Irene" are given more production than suited the quartet's ethos, even if those songs would help change America forever.  --Roy Francis Kasten