Hootenanny at Carnegie Hall in Bloomington, MN

Drawn from three "hootenanny" concerts held at
Carnegie Hall
as benefits for
Sing Out!
magazine in 1958 and 1959, the
Folkways Records
LP
Hootenanny at Carnegie Hall
is a mixed bag of material and tape sources. Highlights include a powerful performance by the
Rev. Gary Davis
of his signature song,
"If I Had My Way"
; a comedy routine by the actor
Will Geer
impersonating
Mark Twain
; and
Pete Seeger
's rendition of a newly written topical song by
Malvina Reynolds
satirizing the Ku Klux Klan,
"The Battle of Maxton Fields."
Seeger
not only serves as master of ceremonies, but also performs more than half of the tracks, taking over entirely on the LP's second side. Unfortunately, a clutch of those tracks --
"I Never Will Marry"
(on which he is accompanied by his half-brother
Mike Seeger
),
"Oh Riley (Reilly's Gone),"
"Kevin Barry,"
"Wimoweh,"
and the closer,
"Hold On -- United Nations Make a Chain"
-- sound like they were recorded from the lobby of
, not on the stage. Maybe the intention was to emphasize the sound of the audience singing along, or maybe
Folkways
just couldn't get its microphones to an optimum place, but the effect is to make a chunk of the album sound like a bootleg. ~ William Ruhlmann