Peter Paul & Mary (Moving)

The most popular acoustic folk music group of the 1960s, Peter, Paul and Mary mixed great songs with political and social activism. They brought folk music to a new prominence in the post-McCarthy era, putting lyrics about politics and morality on the radio amid the syrupy boy-girl love tunes that dominated the airwaves when the trio began playing together. This essential LP edition includes the trio s second album (Moving), which was originally issued by Warner Bros. and recorded during late 1962. The album got off to a slow start but it found its way to number two on the charts and a 99-week run with help from ”Puff, The Magic Dragon,” a song that Peter Yarrow had written in college. The single rose to number two that spring and became one of the most beloved children’s tunes of all time, as well as the trio s passport through any potential controversy. Having expended some of their best material on their debut LP, the trio reached further for songs here, including Paul Stookey’s ”Big Boat” and Mike Settle s ”Settle Down (Goin’ Down That Highway),” neither of which clicked as singles, despite rousing vocals on both and some distinctive guitar virtuosity on the former. Other album highlights include the haunting ”Pretty Mary,” the beautiful ”Flora,” the startlingly intricate ”A Soalin’,” and the Woody Guthrie number ”This Land Is Your Land.” In addition to the original album, this Vinyl Lover’s collector s LP includes 2 bonus tracks from the same period: ”Autumn to May” and a bracing live re-interpretation for three interwoven voices of Reverend Gary Davis’ original ”If I Had My Way” (which is even better than the group s studio recording of the same song).