A Song Will Rise

By their fifth album, Peter, Paul & Mary had fallen into a consistency of approach that could be viewed as either dependable or predictable. This had the usual assortment of traditional songs ("Motherless Child," "The Cuckoo"), songs that had first gained an audience during prior folk revivals ("Wasn't That a Time"), a bit of original material, mediocre blues ("San Francisco Bay Blues" and Paul Stookey's "Talkin' Candy Bar Blues"), and a Bob Dylan song ("When the Ship Comes In"). The biggest find, material-wise, was the Gordon Lightfoot composition "For Lovin' Me" (a #30 hit single), which gave the Canadian songwriter (who had yet to release his first United Artists LP) some of his first wide exposure in the United States. Overall, the trio's sound and balance of repertoire had still changed little, if at all, from their debut. They were at their best on folk tunes with sad melodies and harmonies, as on "Jimmy Whalen" and "Ballad of Spring Hill."