An excellent title for a truly memorable double cd release. Not surprising really when you have a cd featuring some of the best known songs from artists of the calibre of both Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

Apart from the quality of the music, you do get a real feel of the history of the US through the 1940s and 1950s. From the depression in the dustbowls of the South , through the war years and of the persecution of leftists and trades unionists by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Also included are some wonderful songs from the Almanac Singers (Talking Union for one) formed by Pete Seeger and often joined by Guthrie, while the last 6 tracks are a live recording of The Weavers at Carnegie Hall in 1955.

This release showcases the importance of protest music, and particularly of Seeger and Guthrie, in the struggle for justice in the ‘land of the free’. The sadness is that the fine principles highlighted here are still to be won as we move into the 21st century.