Biography

SOWING THE SEEDS
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY

Appleseed Recordings celebrates its first decade with a 2-CD, 37-track sampler including exclusive new recordings by Bruce Springsteen & Pete Seeger (their first-ever collaboration), Ani DiFranco, Donovan and more.

A treasure trove of contemporary, traditional and political folk music!

Established in 1997 to “explore the roots and branches of folk and world music and sow the seeds of social justice through music,” Appleseed Recordings has lived up to its intentions. The independent, internationally distributed label has released 85 CDs so far that present new music by folk giants such as Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Donovan, David Bromberg, Al Stewart and Eric Andersen, ascendant talents like The Kennedys, Tim Eriksen, and Lizzie West, and has attracted guest artists Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Judy Collins, and many more.

Sowing the Seeds – The 10th Anniversary is Appleseed’s first sampler and captures many of the label’s highlights, as well as nine new tracks recorded specifically for this birthday celebration. The 2-CD set has been split into two “themed” discs of new and old songs by a veritable Who’s Who of socially aware musicians.

Disc 1, “And Justice for All,” features politically charged songs that were among the first to confront the Iraq War and the Bush Administration, as well as addressing economic hard times, the environment, and other sociopolitical issues. There are classics from our catalogue like Pete Seeger’s controversial update of his Vietnam-era “Bring Them Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam)” with guests Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, and Anne Hills, 9/11 meditations “The Bravest” by Tom Paxton and “19 Miles to Baghdad” by Lizzie West (a recent “Democracy Now” radio/TV favorite), Jackson Browne & Joan Baez’s “Guantanamera,” and Paxton/Hills’ “There Goes the Mountain.” New songs here include the first collaboration between Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger on Springsteen’s haunting “Ghost of Tom Joad” (ironically following Bruce’s recent spate of Seeger-related CDs), Ani DiFranco’s blistering take on Seeger’s “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” Donovan’s re-recording of his 1965 hit, “Universal Soldier,” and four new Pete Seeger tracks, including the hilarious “Ross Perot (George Bush) Guide to Embarrassing Questions” and solemn “Walking Down Death Row.”

Sowing’s second disc, “Love Hope and Appleseed,” presents a somewhat broader selection of themes and styles. The CD features songs of optimism, perseverance and meditations on love. There’s folk-rock from both sides of the Atlantic, including Al Stewart’s “Gina on the Kings Road,” Donovan’s mystical “Yin My Yang,” The Kennedys’ effervescent “Namaste” and John Stewart’s could a-been-a-hit “Baby, It’s You.” There’s traditional acoustic folk from ex-Byrds leader and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Roger McGuinn, with guest Pete Seeger, on “Dink’s Song,” the title track from David Bromberg’s massively popular new CD of solo folk-blues, “Try Me One More Time,” and Tim Eriksen’s spooky but uplifting “Leave Your Light On.” Other artists include Eric Andersen with guest Lou Reed on the chugging acoustic rocker “You Can’t Relive the Past,” Judy Collins, Pat Humphries (her classic “Swimming to the Other Side”), Dick Gaughan, Tommy Sands and Vedran Smailovic, and more.

Various artists: “Sowing the Seeds – The 10th Anniversary”

Disc 1: “And Justice for All”

1. “Oh Sacred World” – Pete Seeger (0:20)
2. “Ghost of Tom Joad” – Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen (4:26) (exclusive new track)
3. “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” – Ani DiFranco (3:31) (exclusive new track)
4. “Universal Soldier” – Donovan (2:46) (exclusive new track)
5. “White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land” – Eric Andersen with Wyclef Jean (5:17)
6. “All My Children of the Sun” – Tim Robbins (3:55)
7. “The Bravest” – Tom Paxton (3:10)
8. “19 Miles to Baghdad” – Lizzie West & The White Buffalo (5:11)
9. “Bring Them Home” – Pete Seeger with Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle & Anne Hills (3:43)
10. “Walking Down Death Row” – Pete Seeger (3:38) (exclusive new track)
11. “Guantanamera” – Jackson Browne & Joan Baez (6:33)
12. “Heartland Express” – Sharon Katz & The Peace Train (5:24)
13. “Indian Prayer” – Tom Pacheco (5:24)
14. “There Goes the Mountain” – Tom Paxton & Anne Hills (4:02)
15. “Sing About These Hard Times” – Peggy Seeger (3:20)
16. “If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus” – Kim and Reggie Harris with Peter Yarrow and Bethany & Rufus (4:33) (exclusive new track)
17. “The Ross Perot (George Bush) Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions”
– Pete Seeger with Tao Rodriguez-Seeger (2:20) (exclusive new track)
18. “The Emperor is Naked Today-o” – Pete Seeger (2:23) (exclusive new track)
19. “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” – Tommy Sands with Dolores Keane and Vedran Smailovic (6:23)

Disc 2: “Love, Hope and Appleseed”

1. “Quite Early Morning” – Pete Seeger (1:09) (exclusive new track)
2. “Music of Healing” – Tommy Sands & Pete Seeger with Vedran Smailovic (3:39)
3. “There is Hope” – Aoife Clancy (4:26)
4. “Swimming to the Other Side” – Pat Humphries (4:17)
5. “Turn! Turn! Turn!” – Bruce Cockburn (4:42)
6. “Namaste” – The Kennedys (3:23)
7. “Gina in the Kings Road” – Al Stewart (3:47)
8. “Yin My Yang” – Donovan (3:33)
9. “Baby, It’s You” – John Stewart (3:37)
10. “Leave Your Light On” – Tim Eriksen (3:35)
11. “Try Me One More Time” – David Bromberg (3:15)
12. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (3:40)
13. “Dink’s Song” – Roger McGuinn with Pete Seeger and Josh White Jr. (4:17)
14. “You Can’t Relive the Past” – Eric Andersen with Lou Reed (4:03)
15. “Oh Had I a Golden Thread” – Judy Collins (4:59)
16. “Sail On” – Dick Gaughan (5:13)
17. “Somos El Barco (We Are the Boat)” – Holly Near/Arlo Guthrie/Ronnie Gilbert/Pete Seeger (HARP) (4:59)
18. “Pete gets the last word” – Pete Seeger (0:57) (exclusive new track)