Tennessee Ernie Ford – Civil War Songs of the North (Music CD)

Tennessee Ernie Ford – Civil War Songs of the North (Music CD)
It says something about the true cultural outcome of the War Between the States that the Union songs aren’t generally as well known as their Confederate counterparts. Still, if anyone could have turned these pieces into popular favorites 100 years on, it was Tennessee Ernie Ford — he holds nothing back, from “The Army of the Free” to “Union Dixie,” although these performances, curiously enough, sound much more like, and less natural than, his work on the accompanying Civil War Songs of the South, which have a more spontaneous and subtle feel, whereas the work here is more arch and self-conscious. It’s a subtle difference, but one that becomes apparent listening to the two albums side-by-side, and it may explain, in part, why Civil War Songs of the North didn’t sell half as well, or for a third as long, as its southern counterpart. Ford’s baritone is in superb shape throughout, and most impressive on “Virginia’s Bloody Soul,” and there’s something of a history lesson here in the form of songs such as “Marching Song (Of the First Arkansas Negro Regiment)” (set to “Battle Hymn of the Republic”). The most familiar song here is “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” but many of the melodies will be recognizable from other settings and uses. A lot of the repertory is serious and profound, but some of it is lighthearted, and Ford fits both moods, taking on his twangier, higher-pitched approach to singing on “The Fall of Charleston.” Some of the material here, such as “Marching Through Georgia,” could still be the basis for starting brawls in the territory mentioned, 100 years after the fact, which explains another reason for the southern album’s greater popularity — the south never put aside or forgot the war or the sentiments behind it, while the north mostly consigned it and the songs surrounding it to history. The accompaniment, in addition to fife and drums, includes acoustic guitars (rather refreshingly on “The Girl I Left Behind Me”) and autoharps. ~ Bruce Eder