Customer Reviews

Steal Away - Songs of the Underground Railroad

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Kim & Reggie have done it again with their latest release. This extraordinary collection features a diverse collection of the "code" songs of the Underground Railroad, the brave group of African-Americans who escaped the oppression of slavery in the U.S. South and then joined Harriet Tubman, the group's "foundress," in her quest to bring others to freedom. The songs in this collection truly touch every human emotion as they convey a history that is too often forgotten in our society which is more racially divided than ever. I am struck by the confident hope expressed by songs such as "Harriet Tubman/Steal Away," "Great Day," and "Wade in the Water." The story & accompanying song "Heaven Is Less Than Fair" brings home the brutality of slavery that separated families and loved ones from each other. All the songs carry a messaage for today, especially songs like "Ain't I A Woman?" as we discover that these words of Sojourner Truth could still in some ways be spoken today. This CD is a great listen, a great gift, and a great teaching tool. Highly recommended to all.

This is quite simply the most beautiful music I've ever heard in my life - not just one song, but the entire CD.

Kim and Reggie Harris's voices are extraordinary, their harmonies are perfect, and their guitar work supports each song ideally. In addition, the selections are so moving that more than one of them brought me to tears.

I don't think the samples nearly do it justice.

When I was in high school back in the late 60s, I had a good friend who, like me, liked most kinds of music and was interested in exploring any and all genres. Except, in his case, he held what he called "Hootenanny Hoot" music in particular contempt. Near as I could tell, he was referring to the folk music of the early 60s, and I gathered what irritated him was the sheer, unmitigated earnestness the young white, mostly college educated artists (and their fans) displayed. I sort of understood where he was coming from but felt that he was being limited and limiting. Yeah, even at that age, most of my favorite music had a kind of ironic distance, and that was true even when it was socially conscious. But there was room enough in my universe for the overtly sincere, sometimes deadly earnest acoustic artists of the 1960s. In small doses, it was actually something of a healthy corrective to the emerging political anger and the nihilism that dogged its heels even before the dawning of the 1970s.

I wonder what my high school friend would say about more recent folkies, like, say, Kim and Reggie Harris. These are artists every bit as political (and, perhaps, "politically correct") as any of the emerging artists of the early 60s "folk scare." But in Kim and Reggie's case, they ARE African-American, which even back then lent you some street cred among white h.s. and college students.

If it's contemporary folk music's (at least)occasional didacticism that is a turn-off for some, well, I'd just remind them that some of that just goes with the territory. A great number of the non-superstar folk musicians I've met make a good part of their living--aside from concertizing--by developing educational programs for schools, libraries and churches. Kim and Reggie Harris are no exception, and many of their recordings show some trace of that. This thematic album, for instance, contains spoken, semi-dramatic segments that I'm sure they incorporate into their educational programs. Plus the liner notes are chock full of information about the Underground Railroad, the code language used in some of the Negro spirituals and work songs that clearly serve a didactic end.

But, hey, nothing wrong with that, especially if you have the musical chops to back the "message" up. Kim and Reggie do, in abundance. They are such accomplished singers and musician that there is no question that this entire album could simply be appreciated on strictly musical terms. Or people might enjoy the gospel numbers like "Swing Low," "Steal Away," or "Wade In the Water" as the spirituals they've come to know and love for their religious message. But putting them in their historical and cultural context of the Underground Railroad--if done with real skill and artistry--can only enhance their meaning.

Kim and Reggie Harris are just the right people to pull this off. There is nothing dry or pedantic about this album. I won't say they make their "history lesson" painless exactly: learning more about this dark period in our nation's history can never be FUN, but by creating so many moments of real beauty in the telling of this harsh tale, they create an experience that begins to resemble transcendence.

I have no idea whether my high school friend is still quite so critical of didactic folk music these days as he was some 40 odd years ago. But I wouldn't mind playing STEAL AWAY for him as example of how music can be socially conscious and still be a thing of beauty at the same time. Or to put in another way, Kim and Reggie show us how music can be righteous, without being self-righteous. And that's something.

I have had the pleasure to know Kim & Reggie Harris in the 1990s. They are gifted musicians and story tellers and they are gifted at making you feel like a passenger on the underground railroad, the Train that remains Bound for Glory!

I just love the collection of songs; you learn about the code terms for freedom as you come along for the ride. Just hop on board! This Train is Bound for Glory and it's making stops for freedom all along the way. Next stop - No More Auction Block for Me - an excellent statement against an atrocious period in history when people were sold at auction blocks on the open market. Now it's time to Follow the Drinking Gourd on the next stop. Kim has a beautiful voice and when you hear her sing "Free at Last," don't be surprised if you are very moved.

Abolitionists - those opposed to slavery; Quakers opposed slavery and helped many people escape to the Promised Land outside the slave states.

Conductor - people who helped lead the Underground Railroad and keep that train moving!

Drinking Gourd - North Star, used by many to travel northward out of the slave states.

Heaven - Code word for Canada, the desired northern stop. Canada recognized all free citizens, regardless of race. The Train that was Bound for Glory made many successful runs to Canada.

Safe Houses, stops - homes that were used to shelter runaway slaves. These safe houses were stops the train made en route to freedom.

Slave Catchers - self explanatory.

These gifted story tellers are not only wonderful musicians, but they are also historians who bring to life a vital part of history that should never be forgotten.

My purposes in this space have been primarily to review political books that reflect on various aspects of history and politics. Along the edges of this work I have filled in the borders with commentary on musical and cultural phenomena that reflect those concerns. Thus, one is as likely to find a review of some old forgotten folkie or blues singer as a more well-known historical figure like Leon Trotsky or John Brown. However, sometimes music is not just an adjunct to historical narrative but forms a central cog in understanding the phenomena. That is just the situation here with Kim and Reggie Harris' contribution to an understanding of slavery, freedom from slavery and how to get out from under slavery that was the primary fight for blacks, especially in the lead up to the America Civil War in the mid-19th century.

From a perusal of the liner notes this "concept" album is a labor of love by this singing/songwriting couple. The project developed in the 1980's out a need to present the fight against slavery as epitomized by the organization of the Underground Railroad to the next generations so that it is firmly etched in their minds. Their musical abilities, especially when they harmonize (listen to "Oh, Freedom" and "Wade In The Water"), make this a very fruitful enterprise. As always with Appleseed recordings the liner notes give a detailed story of how this effort was produced and what each song represents in the anthology.

I will not repeat that information here. I will, however, mention that various figures highlighted here like "General" Harriet Tubman get their full due, as does Sojourner Truth on the nicely done "Aren't I A Woman". The various coded hymns and other songs that were used on the Underground Railroad to either symbolize the freedom struggle or for security like "Follow The Drinking Gourd" are also explained. "Heaven Is Less Than Fair", a Harris tribute product, does a nice job on explaining the uses and need for the codes. Needless to say there are religiously-tinged songs like "Go Down Moses" that reflect that deep feeling that helped get through the hard days of slavery in one piece. Listen to the music and learn history at the same time. That's a great combination, right?

As background music while I tell the story of the hidden symbols and meanings in my Underground Railroad Quilt, this is the best collection I have found. I was pleased with the sound quality and clarity of the words. My only complaint was the unevenness of the volume. Perhaps I can adjust the timing of my story so the lower volume sections of the music correspond with the more somber parts of the talk!

My pre-schooler liked this tape after she read about Harriet Tubman