Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(33 customer reviews) 53 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Great Performances from Outstanding Performers,
May 4, 2005 Theo Logos (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Songs of the Civil War (Audio CD)
Civil War songs haunt my earliest memories. My father was a history buff who had his boys memorizing the Gettysburg Address before they entered kindergarten, and I cannot remember a time when I did not know the songs of the Union and Confederate soldiers. As someone who has known and loved these songs all my life, I must say that `Songs of the Civil War' is simply one of the best collections of this music that I have ever heard.
The songs on this collection were obviously selected with great care. Many of the greatest hits of the Civil War are here, like When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Dixie Land, and Marching through Georgia, but more obscure material has also been included, like Lincoln & Liberty, which was an unofficial campaign song for the Republican in the 1860 election. Both Union and Confederate songs are well represented. These songs do not attempt to recreate arrangements and instrumentation of the 1860s, and might not pass muster at a strict re-enactor's campfire, but...Read more
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
A wonderful evocative collection,
August 2, 2000 Simon Jackson - See all my reviews
This review is from: Songs of the Civil War (Audio CD)
As I sit here writing this review the CD `Songs of the Civil War' is playing in the background. There are two things, which surprise me; firstly that each time I listen to this collection I enjoy it that little bit more and secondly after playing it so much I'm surprised that the disc hasn't wore away to nothing! Ken Burns, the co-producer of this album and of course the producer of the spectacular TV series `The Civil War' suggests that "Music, songs are a kind of glue that holds our history together and binds the present with the past to form our most important memories." Unlike the soundtrack to the series, which is mainly traditional music and instrumentals `Songs of the Civil War', offers the listener a whole range of songs that capture the essence of the both the Civil War and the social and political philosophies that gave birth to it. There are songs from the perspective of both North and South, from the position of the soldier, from their families left behind,...Read more
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
An all-star collection of folk and country singers do "Songs of the Civil War",
August 21, 2005 This review is from: Songs of the Civil War (Audio CD)
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.
In fact, when the U.S. Military Band shows up to play instrumental version of "Dixie's Land" and "When...Read more
