Cheap Songs of the Civil War (Music) (Various Artists) Price

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Customer Reviews of Songs of the Civil War

An all-star collection of folk and country singers do "Songs of the Civil War"
If you liked the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" or have actually heard of the album "White Mansions," then you would want to check out this 1991 collection of "Songs of the Civil War." The various artists are not only folk singers like Judy Collins and Richie Havens, but country singers such as Waylon Jennings and Kathy Mattea, and artists who work the area in between, namely John Hartford. But mainly this album is going to be of primary interest to those interested in the Civil War who will most enjoy hearing familiar songs sung by familiar voices, and certainly be introduced to both new songs and singers as well, such as when Sweet Honey in the Rock sings "No More Auction Block." Sometimes you will be surprised to learn who is singing what, as I was when Jennings did "Rebel Soldier," but that just speaks to why this is such a great album. <
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>In fact, when the U.S. Military Band shows up to play instrumental version of "Dixie's Land" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," it is something of a disappointment since these tracks are most like what we have heard on previous collections of Civil War music. I know that Havens is not doing "Follow the Drinking Gourd" the way it was done back in the 1850s, but I do not have a problem with his "modern" interpretation of the song sung by slaves traveling the Underground Railroad. The only one where I did not like the interpretation was when Hartford did "Lorena" more up tempo than I think the song should be sung. There are some liberties taken with the song selection, because while "Ashokan Farewell" is so closely identified with the Civil War because of the Ken Burns documentary, it is not a song "from" the Civil War (I suppose that semantically "of" gets the title off the hook). Not that I have gone through and checked the bona fides of each of these twenty-five songs. When Ronnie Gilbert of the Weavers shows up to sign the political song "Lincoln and Liberty," I am not about to complain. Hoyt Axton's "Yellow Rose of Texas" is about as far out of place as anything gets on the album, but he also does "Oh I'm a Good Ole Rebel," which is clearly on firmer ground. <
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>What might be most impressive about this collection is the way it combines so many different musical styles, from Traditional Folk and Black Gospel to Bluegrass and Outlaw Country. There are more and you can quibble on the labels, but you get the point. Standout tracks for me were Mattea's "Southern Solider Boy," Hartford's tender "Aura Lee," Sweet Honey in the Rock's "Run, Mourner, Run," and the McGarrigle sisters on the Stephen Foster song "Better Times Are Coming." Actually, all three of the songs Kate and Anna sing on the album are by Stephen Foster, which certainly suits their harmonic talents. Mattea has three tracks as well and is as much of a standout performer on the album as anyone. Final Note: choosing to do "Marching Through Georgia" as an instrumental strikes me as making a point of avoiding having the lyrics of the most hated song of the Civil War (by far) on the album (not that there is anything wrong with that). The fact that "Songs of the Civil War" ends with Steve Luck blowing "Taps" is just a final reminder that they knew what they were doing when they put this album together.

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Has it all
Hi! I love this CD because it has every song I wanted, plus some I didn't know. I'm a Civil War Reenator so authenticity is important. I was disappointed that "Dixie" was instrumental only, but the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is so moving, it more than made up for it.

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Songs of the Civil War [Columbia]
Spectacular & REALISTIC. <
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>Already a new classic. <
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>Listen & get it!