Peter, Paul and Mary - Platinum Collection (Bonus Track) (CD)

All Music Guide

This Peter, Paul Mary compilation is something of a headscratcher. Apparently, Swissteo Music International, the credited company that produced it, licensed the material from Warner Bros. Records (although that is not stated on the package) for release outside the U.S. (The shrinkwrap bears the legend "Made in Singapore.") The collection is generous, with 25 tracks and a running time of nearly 78 minutes, and the jewel box comes within a cardboard cover that also includes a large booklet featuring song lyrics. It's the song selection that's suspect. Among the tracks are six of the 12 songs from the trio's 1962 debut album, Peter, Paul Mary; eight of 12 from their second album, (Moving); and, skipping ahead a quarter century, seven of ten from 1986's No Easy Walk to Freedom. Of the remaining four tracks, "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" are from In the Wind, "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is from Album 1700, and "Forever Young" is from Reunion. The trio's other ...albums are completely ignored. The U.S. Top 40 hits "Stewball," "Tell It on the Mountain," "I Dig Rock and Roll Music," "Too Much of Nothing," and "Day Is Done" are all missing, along with other memorable songs the group recorded in the mid and late '60s. Although Peter, Paul Mary are consistent enough performers that practically any 25 tracks drawn from their recordings would make for a satisfying listening experience, this collection is peculiarly unbalanced. Fans, however, may want it just for "Forever Young" (billed in a marketing gimmick as a "bonus track"), if only because the trio has resisted converting Reunion to the digital domain and this appears to be its first CD appearance. - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read more Less