I grew up familiar with a few of Peter, Paul and Mary's songs (who, in my generation, doesn't know "Puff the Magic Dragon"?) and knew them from their PBS concerts in the 1980s. In that context, it's easy to see the group as a comfortable folk trio, delivering cheery and upbeat songs to a young audience. But that's only one facet of Peter, Paul and Mary's 43-year career as musicians: their fame and lasting legacy comes from their deep involvement with folk music as an agent of social change, as a way to address injustice wherever it might be.

Carry It On: A Musical Legacy takes viewers through a tour of Peter, Paul and Mary's 43-year career, starting back in the early 1960s when Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers came together with a common vision. Interviews with all three of them, as well as from other folk musicians of the time, make it clear that what their music meant was as important as how it sounded. From the footage of their performances, at venues ranging from folk festivals to protest marches, it's clear that the combination of fantastic music with heart-felt lyrics touched listeners as no other popular music had at the time.

Fans of Peter, Paul and Mary's music will certainly enjoy seeing the group in a number of performances over the years; the 80-minute Carry It On is lavish in its inclusion of songs from a variety of sources. It becomes apparent that while the group has had a very successful 43-year career (which is amazing in its own right), the most famous and the most compelling songs in their repertoire date from the first ten years or so of their career. As a result, it's the first half of Carry It On that will likely appeal to the broadest audience; the second half, with its focus on the group's activism and its connections with other folk singers, will be mostly of interest to stronger fans of the group.

The one thing that Carry It On is really missing is more depth at the beginning. We jump right into Peter, Paul and Mary as a group, but the program doesn't offer any insight into the three performers before they came together. Were they successful on their own? What were their careers like? What prompted them to form a group rather than continue individually? While Carry It On does have a focus on the group's career together, it would have enhanced the program overall to have a stronger sense of origins. Similarly, the part of the program that covers early days of Peter, Paul and Mary's career is the most interesting, and I'd have enjoyed seeing that part fleshed out more.

The DVD

Carry It On is packaged in a plastic keepcase, and includes an insert with the chapter list.

Video

The image, presented in its correct 1.33:1 aspect ratio, is clean and attractive. The program is a mix of footage from a variety of sources, from 2003 interview and rehearsal footage to broadcast footage of concerts from all along Peter, Paul and Mary's 43-year career, so obviously the image quality does vary; however, even the older footage looks quite good, and is certainly clean and watchable.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack handles the material well. While the interview footage sometimes sounds a bit flat when it overlaps with the music, on the whole both the conversations and the songs come across well. The musical segments sound great and will have you grooving along with the audience, and the interviewees are always clear and easy to understand.

Extras

There are no special features on this DVD.

Final thoughts

The appeal of Carry It On: A Musical Legacy can be summed up in the fact that it motivated me to dig out my CD of "The Best of Peter, Paul and Mary" and listen to it again: the long-lived folk group had a beautiful and compelling sound that makes songs like "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree" every bit as great as in the 1960s. As a documentary on the trio, Carry It On is mildly interesting but not as in-depth as I'd have liked. Still, it's certainly worth picking up; fans of Peter, Paul and Mary will definitely enjoy seeing the archival footage of the trio's performances. Recommended.