Civil War Songs

Rusty McNeil | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Label: WEM Records
• ASIN: 1878360116
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,154 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excellent...The songs are an extremely useful source for teaching the culture of the Civil War period." -- Choice

Excellent...The songs are an extremely useful source for teaching the culture of the Civil War period. -- Choice, October, 1990

Product Description

The sixty songs reflect the tragedy, irony humor, pride and hope which accompanied the War Between the States, placed in historic context by historical narration. Three stereo CD's, with Notes on the Songs. Total Playing Time: 3 hours.

The War Begins: After the election of Abraham Lincoln, eleven states secede. The beginning of the war is accompanied by songs of self-righteousness and optimism, of "Copperheads" and "Black Republicans," of proud new regiments and of martyrs.

The Realities of War: The Battle of Bull Run discourages Northern optimism, and two legendary figures emerge: "Stonewall" Jackson and Jeb Stuart. Yankee morale rises with the stirring "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Battle Cry of Freedom." Glory fades in the face of reality as soldiers sing of inadequate food and the slaughter at Shiloh. Civilians sing of the inequities of the draft and of doing without.

The Changing War: Escaped slaves are mustered into the Union army, singing of freedom and emancipation. Ironclad ships revolutionize naval warfare, guerrilla warfare increases, prisoners of war die.

The Union Forever: War-weary soldiers and civilians sing of sweetheart, home, the siege of Vicksburg, the foreign-born who fill the Union army's ranks, Lincoln's re-election, William Tecumseh Sherman's march to the sea and the fall of Richmond.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful history through songs, August 14, 2000

By 

Miles (Potomac, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civil War Songs with Historical Narration (American History Through Folksong) (Audio Cassette)

I have enjoyed Civil War Songs from the first listening. Hearing the history of the Civil War told through songs written by people who were experiencing the war first hand made it all the more real. I have toured many a battle sight from Gettysburg to Antietam to Manassas (Bull Run) and found that these historic songs bring an added understanding to the battlefield sights, as well as, a better understanding to the political and economic effects the war was having on the nation. I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy this fine narration with historic songs of the Civil War

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Anthology; Mediocre Performances, May 10, 2005

By 

John K. Puskar "renaissance man" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Civil War Songs (Audio CD)

The McNeils have assembled a good sampling of different music of the era, and have highlighted the songs' significance but . . .

Neither is a really good singer, and some of the songs are tedious (e.g. "Treasury Rats").

Save your money. Buy a CD from the 2nd SC String Band instead.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Has songs you won't find elsewhere, January 9, 2011

By 

Hannah Somers "Hannah Somers" (California, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civil War Songs (Audio CD)

Some of the arrangements ("When Johnny Comes Marching Home") are original, as in historically accurate, arrangements. And this album contains songs that I couldn't find elsewhere. I couldn't even find complete lyrics for some of the songs, much less a recording of some (e.g., "We are Boys of Potomac's Ranks"). What I like about many of the songs is the simplicity of the arrangements; there's no large choir here. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is quite powerful. The two main singers (maybe the only singers, with overdubbing) are a male and a female. As noted earlier, neither are very good singers. In particular, the female's voice is not good at all and can be hard to take. (Why have a female record "Aura Lea" anyway?) So, this is a drawback in an otherwise fine compilation of music.