For those unaware, Folk City: The Musical brings its audience into the fascinating world of Beatniks, bohemians, hippies, folkies, blues players, singer-songwriters, poets, painters and rockers, all drawn to New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1960s to realize their creative dreams.

It’s the 60’s, Beatniks, bohemians, hippies, poets, singers, musicians, actors and artists are flocking to Greenwich Village and its hip little night spots. The legendary Folk City was a music venue in New York City’s cultural bullseye.

The play takes place in Gerdes Folk City, the now legendary music venue, where, for three decades, we follow six young, creative hopefuls in the turbulent and exciting 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, through dynamic musical, cultural, political, social and personal changes.

The play (and this 2024 DigiMIX of the cast album) ranges from 1960 to 1985, following all the twists and turns, mirroring the music trends and cultural changes of the times. Singers, songwriters, poets, writers, painters and social activists have always been the pulsing heart of Greenwich Village and Folk City: The Musical honors them all.

Their triumphs, challenges, relationships, jealousies, and their journeys through a myriad of cultural changes and their ongoing quest for recognition for their music to be heard, shared and to make a difference.

How Much Is Enough? finds Matthews marrying his signature, eloquent folk rock to the sepia-tinted songcraft of Neil Finn, the wide-eyed, wistful wonder of a young David Bowie, and more recent influences including Elliot Smith and Hiss Golden Messenger.

Fusing acoustic and electric instrumentation, it’s a record made by a man who didn’t need to make a record, and that purity and authenticity permeates its cultured songcraft and heartfelt lyricism.

Disc 1:
1. Village Doowop 2. The Village (Snap to It) 3. The Next Big Thing 4. Love At Third Sight 5. Big Deal (Beatnik Suite) 6. My Baby’s the Groove 7. Stand Tall 8. Everyone’s So Much 9. Rising Fahrenheit 10. California (State I’m In) 11. Let’s Hear It For Me 12. My Single Days Are Over 13. Out Of Sync 14. Good Goodbye 15. I Heard An Angel Sing 16. Castaway

The first disc opens on the emboldened Village Doowop, the finger-snapping, melodious delights of The Village (Snap to It), the sunny The Next Big Thing, and then we are brought forth the harmonically-hued Love At Third Sight, the spoken word Big Deal (Beatnik Suite), the low slung guitar work within My Baby’s the Groove, and both the delicate folk of Stand Tall and the gently strummed Everyone’s So Much.

Along next is the drum-led Rising Fahrenheit, the bright and breezy California (State I’m In), the upbeat, albeit Wartime conscription-imbibed Let’s Hear It For Me, and then we get the languishing My Single Days Are Over, the 70’s-lite jangles that drive Out Of Sync, the rhythmic guitar of Good Goodbye, the first disc rounding out on the flourishing I Heard An Angel Sing and the organically-hued Castaway.

Disc 2:
1. Stars, Baby 2. Never Been Taken This High 3. Rush Of Rhyme 4. Off My Mind 5. Far Enough 6. Quiet Riot (Worried World) 7. Dear Friends 8. We Must Become One 9. Lovers Leap 10. The Lovers 11. All Things Remembered (The Change Is All) 12. There’s A Spirit 13. I Belong Here 14. It’s A Shot

The second disc opens on the Eastern-flavored Stars, Baby, the free flowing, jazz happy Never Been Taken This High, the melodically pleasing Rush Of Rhyme, and they are in turn followed by the playfully upbeat Off My Mind, the low slung blues of Far Enough, the informatively-sculpted Quiet Riot (Worried World) and the atmospherically-charged Dear Friends.

Up next is the ornately beautiful acoustic track We Must Become One, a country twang that threads through the lonesome Lovers Leap, and the supple balladry of The Lovers, and they are backed seamlessly by the peaceful All Things Remembered (The Change Is All), the organ-veined There’s A Spirit, coming to a close on the blues-jazz gospel feel to I Belong Here and the foot-tapping 70’s melodic pop-rock of It’s A Shot.

Official Purchase Link