Well, now it's time for the next quarterly Pledge Drive, so PBS has been airing This Land Is Your Land again (at least in the New York/Long Island area). I saw the show the first time around but hadn't seen this thread before. I've now read through the entire thread and must say that the program was generally disappointing to me as well, though perhaps not for all the same reasons that some of the other participants have mentioned.   I was a small child during the "folk scare" and the more commercial acts of the time were my introduction to the genre.   My biggest complaint about the program was not the song selection - although I agree wholeheartedly that the producer hadn't got a clue as to what might remotely qualify as "folk" music. I expected to hear those hackneyed songs because those were the songs that the groups appearing on the show had been best known for singing. My problem was the overall lack of quality in the performances. I did enjoy the Smothers, Limeliters and Judy Collins. Some of the rest of them were actually painful to watch.

    Tinker, you asked why they didn't have the Chad Mitchell Trio, a group whose members are indeed still alive and who McGuinn played behind for a couple of years, on the show.   Rumor has it that the CMT were indeed supposed to be involved in the program, but balked when little Mr. Twentysomething Producer insisted that they sing only their three "best selling hits" (which would include the John Birch Society, a song the Trio doesn't sing anymore because it's too dated).   The fact that they did not appear on the show leads me to believe that the artists were not given any creative control whatsoever and refusal to comply with the producer resulted in banishment. It's a shame the CMT weren't there; at least they would have given a credible performance of what many of you call "folk lite." I still cringe when I recall that guy whistling off-key during Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

    Another problem I had has also been mentioned in passing; many of those appearing on stage were never introduced or acknowledged. I would have liked to know who they were, seeing as I managed to sit through the entire program.   The worst had to be when the producer is sitting there touting the $250 box of CDs and all the "great folk music" in it, when anyone can see it's mostly rock material and, what's worse, Tom and Dick Smothers are sitting right there going along with all the BS!!! (Oops, I forgot. They'd have been banished too had they dared to disagree. Almost like what happened to them at CBS about 30 years ago. Guess they learned their lesson!).

    I doubt PBS made enough in pledges from this show to warrant producing the second one they were talking about, but if they should try another it might be wise to book artists who can still give a decent performance and allow them to chose material they are comfortable performing.   Perhaps a little artistic freedom would get them a better crop of artists.   And I bet Tom Paxton would do the show if the Chad Mitchell Trio were there. Nobody covered his songs better than they did!

                                        Ray