Battle Cry of Freedom

Robert Shaw (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003F4W
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,509 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #98 in Music > Blues > Piano Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Mellow 1950s Slant on Patriotic Music, April 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Battle Cry of Freedom (Audio CD)

A nice recording with fine singing. But the arrangements and performance sound very dated. Despite the aggressive title of this disc - many of these classics are arranged to give everything a kind of mellow orchestral flavor - while most of the songs should have the flavor of a Sousa Band (after all these are patriotic songs). For crisp inspiring renditions of these songs consider the new men's chorus recording of patriotic songs on the CD entitled "The Spirit of Freedom" with the Washington Men's Camerata.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For traditionalists, this is hard to beat..., December 9, 2004

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Battle Cry of Freedom (Audio CD)

If you want a CD with the most popular patriotic or military anthems on it, performed in classic formal style by great artists, varied because it features not only a mixed chorus of men and women, but soloists and a symphony orchestra too, buy this one before it goes out-of-print. First issued in 1962, this disc features not only "America" and "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" but also a stirring long version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Less familiar is "Columbia the Gem of the Ocean", which I've always liked. It closes with "The Star-Spangled Banner" of course. Inbetween is a great version of "Yankee Doodle" and a Civil War medley which offers not just songs from the righteous Union side, but a few from the traitorous Confederacy, too. There is also a medley of the armed forces anthems for the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force and the Army. I purchased this recently as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law, who is 81, was a young bride with an Air Force husband during World War II, and is as conservative a Christian as any good Southern Baptist can be. I hope she'll like it, even though country and western music from the '40's and '50's is her special thing. If you have a desire to have these kind of songs in your collection, the Robert Shaw outfit does them in high style and you'll likely be happy with this CD.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Battle Cry of Freedom, November 3, 2001

By 

David C. Buursma (Lynwood, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Battle Cry of Freedom (Audio CD)

It would be hard to imagine a better performance of this music, and equally hard to imagine a better choral sound than the vintage Robert Shaw Chorale. Shaw used some of the finest young professional singers of the day, many of whom went on to enjoy distinguished careers in vocal music.

Besides having an uncompromising rhythmic vitality, Shaw brings a simple dignity to this wonderful music. "America the Beautiful" a straight-forward arrangement with solo work by Florence Kopleff and Thomas Pyle is a prime example.

This is a truly a splendid album.