Audio Fidelity - AFZ161 - Hybrid Stereo SACD - 780014216122
Mastered by Steve Hoffman - Numbered Limited Edition - Plays on All CD Players
Peter, Paul and Mary's self-titled debut album was originally released in May of 1962 and contains the ever-popular folk song "If I Had A Hammer."
"Peter, Paul and Mary sing folk music. In your hands you hold their first recordings. But to be more accurate, you hold a bouquet of song still fresh as earth, and strong with the perfume of sincerity. For Peter, Paul and Mary sing!
"There is nothing apologetic about their work. No ineptitude disguised as charm. No uninspired professionalism passed off as authenticity. Whatever they have thus far undertaken, Peter, Paul and Mary have done well, and with flair. And, obviously, with their whole hearts. The temptation is to run on in a riot of superlatives. Probably, you're either reading this instead of listening, or else reading and trying to listen at the same time.
Either way, it's a mistake. The truth is on the record. It deserves your exclusive attention. No dancing please. Just look at their faces, listen to their songs, and hope that you have a chance to hear (and see) them in person).
"These dynamic youngsters have been together almost a year now (by spring '62 when this is being written), and each day seems to bring new definition to that word... together. The trio has elsewhere been described, visually, as 'Two bearded prophets of the folk idiom in league with a bright, young blonde-and-a-half.' And vocally, as 'An angel, and two cellos playing guitars.' Beyond such imagery, such facts as birthplaces, hobbies, ages, and last names are unimportant here. Their identities as artists, both individually and collectively, are emphatically established on the record inside. By way of rounding out the biography, let's just add that what they do in their spare time is sing.
"More important than biography, there seems to be something optimistic, something encouraging about this whole musical experience. Peter, Paul and Mary's first album is bright with enthusiams. No gimmicks. There is just something good about it all. Good in the sense of Virtue, that is. And the news that something this good can be as popular as this is can fill you with a new kind of optimism. Maybe everything's going to be all right. Maybe mediocrity has had it. Maybe hysteria is on the way out. One thing for sure in any case: Honesty is back. Tell your neighbor." - Original Album Liner Notes
Featuring two of the biggest folk hits of all time - "Lemon Tree" and "If I Had A Hammer" - along with such classics as "500 Miles" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", Peter, Paul and Mary's self-titled 1962 debut album introduced one of the most popular, innovative and enduring groups in the entire folk music spectrum.
It's one of the rare folk albums to reach US #1 - staying on top for seven weeks - and remained in the Billboard top 10 for ten months.
Mary Travers, Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow first joined forced in 1961 under the guidance of Bob Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman.
At the 1963 Grammy Awards, their recording of "If I Had A Hammer" won the Best Folk Recording and Best Pop Performance by a Vocal Group awards. This classic recording helped to bring modern folk stylings to a mass audience for the first time.
"The debut album by Peter, Paul & Mary is still one of the best albums to come out of the 1960s folk music revival, a beautifully harmonized collection of the best songs that the group knew, stirring in its sensibilities and its haunting melodies, crossing between folk, children's songs, and even gospel...Peter, Paul & Mary, which hit the top spot on the album charts as part of a 185-week run, is the purest of the trio's albums, laced with innocent good spirits and an optimism that remains infectious even 40 years later." -Bruce Eder, allmusic.com
Numbered, Limited Edition
Hybrid SACD Plays on All SACD & CD Players
Selections:
1. Early In the Morning
2. 500 Miles
3. Sorrow
4. This Train
5. Bamboo
6. It's Raining
7. If I Had My Way
8. Cruel War
9. Lemon Tree
10. If I Had A Hammer
11. Autumn To May
12. Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
