This is indeed a wonderful rediscovery of American musical traditions which, I believe, are being relegated to the archives. The Smithsonian does a good job of protecting it from extinction.Bruce Springsteen has made the music and the free flowing atmosphere in which the music was originally sung, come alive in a contemporary setting. With all its rich complexity and diversity, American music has two dominant roots, those derived from European immigrants and those derived from African roots. As an avid listener, the dominant music of the past 20 years or so has been the African tradition. This evolved into Gospel, R&B, Blues, Hiphop, Rap and so on. Somewhere along the way, the other great tradition was being swamped, relegated to the archives and kept alive by small bands of people (such as those who have joined Springsteen in this recording at his farm). Contemporary 'country' music is also, I sadly believe, gotten distanced from the 'folk' tradition. It is in this context that I see this as a breakthrough album. Sprinsteen and his informal band of musicians play freely as this music was meant to be played and the joy comes out in the creation. This is not a simple rendition of Pete Seeger's songs, Springsteen and his group have made this their very own and by doing this they have made this wonderful tradition come alive again. You hear the sounds of the banjo and the mandoline, the accordian and the violine, the trumpet and saxophone as well as the B3 organ and piano and drums in purcussion that they would never have used a 100 years ago. It is street corner music, tavern music, gutter music and all the music that is rough and raw on the edges, that is sung and played unrehersed, with the same rawness, beauty and freedom. Do not expect well rehersed studio renditions. This is the very opposite of smooth pop and the American Idol. This album is an absolute treasure.
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