Customer Reviews

The Mississippi - River of Song [VHS]

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Acorn Media has been issuing some really nice videos and one of their latest is of special value to anyone interested in American music. With the supertitle "The Mississippi, River of Song: The Grassroots of American Music," this program is divided into four tapes of about 60 minutes each. The basic idea is that we start with "Americans Old and New" at the northern source of the great river and follow the stream through the "Midwestern Crossroads," the "Southern Fusion," and wind up in "Louisiana, Where Music is King." Basically the idea is a good one. The first section starts with the Chippewa Nation and a Scandinavian fiddle group, both of whose representatives have much to say about tradition. But when we get to Minneapolis, we have to listen to the claims of alternative rock groups (the first one brags about not caring about success and annoying their neighbors when they rehearse) who have not quite as much relation to the Mississippi as do most of the other groups. For example, the German polka group in Wisconsin seem to belong right where they are, while rock and jazz groups could have been interviewed just about anywhere in these states. Yet in the four hours, there simply has to be music you will like. The interviews are always interesting; but after a while they begin to sound a bit the same-so I do not recommend watching all four hours at one sitting! The narration is always interesting, spoken as it is by folk-rock singer Ani DiFranco. Still you are struck with the incredible diversity of music we have not only in this country as a whole but even in the limited confines the producers of this series have chosen as their focal point. However you might quibble with the choice of groups used here, those selected are at least representative of the kind of music under consideration. For example, the third set, which takes us from LA Center, Kentucky to Jackson, Mississippi, includes Boundless Love Quartet, Sonny Burgess, Memphis Horns and Ann Peebles, Little Milton, and the Mississippi Mass Choir among others. I cannot begin to comment on whether other groups would have been better or worse choices. I would have preferred more ethnic groups, but that's me. Co-produced by the mighty Smithsonian Institute, these tapes have a companion set of two CDs (without the interviews, I imagine) and a "companion" book, "River of Song: a Musical Journey Down the Mississippi." I think you will find the videos music very worthwhile.

After watching this series on PBS and buying the soundtrack, I'm hooked. Here's the premise: start at the top of the Mississippi and follow the musical heritage and current music on down the river until you end up in Louisiana. What makes this series so cool is that it is REAL music, played by folks who love music itself and aren't just out to make money and become famous (though some of them have). They talk about how music reflects the place where it was made. If you like blues, jazz or zydeco, you will love this, and if you want to learn more about music BEYOND what's on MTV, VH1 or the radio, you will come away enriched.

What a great set. This series explores the diversity of talented musicians along the Mississippi River. I had the opportunity to learn several new styles of music.