Peter, Paul & Mary here Friday

Has it really been four decades since Peter, Paul & Mary’s self-titled debut on Warner Bros. Records?

Since their version of Pete Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer” became a populist anthem of the civil rights movement?

Since “Blowin’ in the Wind” alerted folks to a new writer named Bob Dylan?

Since “Puff, the Magic Dragon” sparked Howard Stern-like controversy on the airwaves over implausible drug references?

The long-lived trio, which comes to the Spokane Opera House on Sunday, has an enduring commitment to good songs and to championing progressive causes through the power of music.

That’s clear from “Carry It On,” a four-CD, one-DVD retrospective, and “In These Times,” a new album that sounds pretty much like old times, thanks to those familiar three-part harmonies (now a little darker and rougher) and simple, uncluttered arrangements.

In those times – particularly the ‘60s – Peter, Paul & Mary were the most successful group in a folk genre at the peak of its popularity, impact and influence. Along the way, they recast folk ballads and children’s songs and were often the first to champion important new songwriters, most famously Dylan, but also Laura Nyro (“And When I Die”), John Denver (“Leaving on a Jet Plane”), Gordon Lightfoot (“Early Morning Rain”) and Tom Paxton (“The Last Thing on My Mind”).

The hootenanny/campfire singalongs are all there on “Carry It On,” as well as the rich catalog of cause-oriented anthems that made Peter, Paul & Mary protest perennials, from early covers of “The Times They Are A-Changin”’ and “Conscientious Objector (I Shall Die)” to “The Great Mandela,” “El Salvador” and “No Easy Walk to Freedom.”

The third and fourth discs cover the somewhat less rewarding post-‘60s decades, which include being apart from 1970 until 1978, when the trio reunited for the Peter Yarrow-organized Survival Sunday, an anti-nuclear benefit at the Hollywood Bowl.

Along with generous helpings of rarities, B-sides and previously unreleased songs, “Carry It On” contains four “pre-bonus” tracks from before Peter, Paul & Mary were signed. The most interesting are Noel Stookey and his semi-rock band, the Corsairs, in a 1956 home recording, and the not-yet-officially formed trio’s 1960 run-through of “Canaan Land” in Stookey’s apartment.

Also interesting are the opening tracks on the DVD: “If I Had a Hammer” performed at the 1963 March on Washington and a 1969 Cellar Door rendition of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” with a still little-known Denver aboard.

The DVD ends with a rehearsal of “Have You Been to Jail for Justice?,” one of the songs on “In These Times,” Peter, Paul & Mary’s first new studio album in almost a decade.

The times haven’t been a-changing that much, apparently: The new album opens with a spirited medley of five union tunes, and offers such protest songs as “Don’t Laugh at Me” and “Invisible People.” It also features a Seeger standard, “How Can I Keep From Singing?,” and a familiar folk song, “Wayfaring Stranger,” while showcasing several promising new writers.

The standout here is Thea Hopkins, whose “Jesus on a Wire” movingly eulogizes murdered gay student Matthew Shepard.