Customer Reviews

Civil War Songs with Historical Narration (American History Through Folksong)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

I purchased the audiotape version about 2 years ago and used it in my classroom. This year, I purchased the CD version as well. The selection of songs is terrific -- some that you won't readily find elsewhere. The McNeils did a great job selecting songs that represent the era and both sides in the conflict. The historical narration is informative and interesting. Now for the disadvantages: the historical narration sometimes isn't placed logically with a particular song. You also can't skip the narration and just play the song for the class to hear. I thought the CD would correct this problem and allow me to go right to the song track I wanted, but unfortunately, they did not separate the narration from the songs on separate tracks. You still have to listen to 1-2 minutes narration before you can just play a song for the class to sing along with. Performance quality is uneven--you will probably hear better vocal quality elsewhere. Still, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Great resource for families driving in the car also.

I bought this terrific CD at the Civil War Museum in Bardstown, Kentucky. This is an excellent museum, adjacent to a pioneer village, a Museum of Natural History, an American War History Museum, and the Museum of Women in the Civil War. The CD was only $20 plus tax, so I feel like I got a bargain. I already own several Civil War music CD's, but this one is unique in that I appreciate the historical narrations. Among my CD treasures is the music CD of the Ken Burns Civil War miniseries.