The first two volumes of Time-Life's Treasury Of Folk Music were subtitled "An All-Star Hootenanny" and ranged across the folk and folk-derived music primarily of the early 1960s on a variety of labels, including both chart hits and well-known songs of the era. Though the third volume is subtitled "Folk Favorites," one would be hard put to find a real distinction from the earlier ones. The recordings date back as far as 1952 with the Weavers' version of Woody Guthrie's "Hard Ain't It Hard" and as far forward as Eric Andersen's "Violets Of Dawn" in 1966, but most of them date from the folk boom period of the early '60s. And though manufactured by Universal Music Special Markets, the set draws tracks originally released on 11 different labels including folk-dominated independents like Vanguard and Folkways, as well as majors like Columbia, Decca, Capitol, and RCA. There are several pop hits, notably Billy Grammer's "Gotta Travel On," Jimmie Rodgers' s "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," Laurindo Almeida and the Bossa Nova All Stars' "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," Burl Ives's "Funny Way Of Laughin'," and the Singing Nun's "Dominique," though each of them is a dubious "folk" performance, strictly speaking. There are also many folk standards, such as "Nancy Whiskey" (the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem), "This Little Light Of Mine" (the Gateway Singers), "The Wayfaring Stranger" (the Limeliters), and "Waltzing Matilda" (Harry Belafonte), and several excellent examples of the singer-songwriters who came to dominate the genre and their songs: Richard and Mimi Fariña ("Pack Up Your Sorrows"), Bob Dylan ("Tomorrow Is A Long Time," performed by Ian and Sylvia), Tom Paxton ("The Marvellous Toy," performed by the Chad Mitchell Trio), Malvina Reynolds ("Little Boxes," performed by Pete Seeger), and Ewan MacColl ("The First Time [Ever I Saw Your Face]," performed by the Highwaymen). On the whole, it's a good, if miscellaneous collection even if, at 30 selections in 82 minutes, it's a bit short for a two-CD set. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide