Freedom: Songs from the Heart of America

Amazon.com
Long annoyed with the dry, dusty nature of American history textbooks, author Joy Hakim set out to create a multivolume narrative that revolved around the deceptively simple idea of freedom. But as her books, the PBS series they spawned, and this, the show's soundtrack, have proven, it's a word whose meanings have been filtered through myriad historical, cultural, and political prisms. The three discs here span some 67 performances across 90 years of recording history, from WWI-era recordings of "Yankee Doodle" (who knew it had so many verses?) and Cohan's "Over There" through a dizzying array of folk, country, pop, R&B, and classical selections. And if it virtually ignores two decades of hip-hop and shortchanges nonvocal jazz (what's "freer" than Monk and Miles?), it's nonetheless an intriguing collection that delivers surprises and musical revelations on every disc.

Hoary American patriotic standards are cast in fresh light, while other worthy performances (a vibrant take on "Erie Canal" by Dan Zanes and Suzanne Vega; Booker T. & the MG's and Terence Trent D'Arby's soulful "A Change Is Gonna Come") are rescued from obscurity in a collection that seems to delight in trashing the narrow-minded marketing philosophy that has largely ghettoized American culture in recent years. Sousa, Seeger, Sly, and Simone are hardly the least of its charms. --Jerry McCulley

Freedom: Songs from the Heart of America,Various Artists,Sony,Classical,Folk-Rock,Old-Timey,Political Folk,Pop,Pop/Rock,Popular Music,R&B,Rock/Pop Collections,Singer/Songwriter,Soul,V/a Compilations

Average customer rating:

not to great
Not so bad, 100 tunes for 4$
You get what you pay for.
Now I know why there were no song samples to listen to ...

100 Favorite Patriotic Songs

Manufacturer: Bci / Eclipse Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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America's Favorite Patriotic Songs
United We Stand: Songs for America
American Pride: Sixteen Stirring Patriotic Themes
America's Bugle Calls
Patriotic Country

ASIN: B0000A1HT8
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Tracks:

America the Beautiful
All Quiet on the Potomac Tonight
Ballad of the Green Berets
On Top of Old Smokey
Coyote Warrior
Semper Fidelis
Breeze from Alabama
Onward Christian Soldiers
Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming
Patriot
Sweet Betsy from Pike
Marines' Hymn
America Is
When Johnny Comes Marchin' Home
Happy the Soldier
American Trilogy
Home Sweet Home
Washington Post March
Enraptured I Gaze
Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair
Yellow Rose of Texas
Over There
Simple Gifts
Liberty Bell
Star Spangled Banner

Tracks:

God Bless the USA
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Katy Cruel
I Vow to Thee My Country
King Cotton
Beautiful Dreamer
America
American Patrol
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Beauty
Mohican Dream
Red, White and Blue
Some Folks
Liberty Song
Pomp and Circumstance
Hail to the Chief
Bennington Rifles
Peace on the Battlefield
I've Been Working on the Railroad
Under the Double Eagle
Red River Valley
My Country 'Tis of Thee
Camptown Races
Wild Blue Yonder
Hands Across the Sea
Fanfare for the Common Man

Tracks:

Stars and Stripes Forever
Living in America
Home on the Range
Old Colony Times
Clementine
Invincible Eagle
Ring Ring de Banjo
Yankee Doodle
Largo from "The New World"
To a Wild Rose
Hail Columbia
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Gettysburg
Carry Me Back to Old Virginny
Capitan
Prairie Daughter
Little Brown Jug
Marching Through Georgia
Entertainer
Steamboat Around the Bend
Revolutionary Tea
Cassions Keep Rollin' Along
Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier
Amazing Grace
Grand Old Flag

Tracks:

God Bless America
National Emblem
Soldier, Soldier Won't You Marry Me
Anchors Away
Oh, Susannah
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
Toast
Dixie
St. Louis Blues
Appalachian Spring
Bonnie Blue Flag
Old Hundreth
Swanee River
Battle Cry of Freedom
U. S Field Artillery
Sidewalks of New York
Chester
Auld Lang Syne
Kingdom Come
My Old Kentucky Home
Hail to the Spirit of Liberty
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Shenandoah
Abraham's Daughter
This Land Is Your Land

Customer Reviews:

not to great.......2007-04-04

We were disappointed with this CD, but for the price I guess we can't expect much. I didn't care for the new style presentation of the songs. I like a more traditional rendering.

Not so bad, 100 tunes for 4$.......2005-06-22

I red the comments of two other people who have bought this 4 CD BOX SET and it is not really so bad. I will even add that there are some excellent tunes. However, I must agree with the fact that few tunes seem to have been recorded 40 or 50 years ago, mainly when you hear the scratches of an old turntable but it is just 2 or 3 tunes. Furthermore, if you do not know American music, it is a good BOX SET to buy if you consider that you received 4 CD for 4$ including 100 tunes. On these 4 CD, I have heard some orchestration that I have never heard before and I consider that they are different but interesting. Any way, after hearing these 100 tunes, you will say to yourself that you like this tune, this other tune, this other tune and so on and you will be able to buy a more expensive CD with the tunes that you like. However, I have bought many CDs in the last few weeks and as you know, there are always some tunes that you like and some tunes that you do not like on every CD that you will buy. So, don't buy it at 25$ but at 4 or 5$ dollars, it is a very good choice for 100 tunes.

You get what you pay for........2004-07-04

You get what you pay for. The singers put their own spin on the singing of each song. If you didn't hear the words you would not recognize some of them. Even some of the music sounds like a bad recording of music played on a turntable. Definitely not worth the price.

Now I know why there were no song samples to listen to ..........2004-07-04

I wish this review had been here when I was thinking of purchasing it. I guess you get what you pay for. If you are thinking of buying this, you are better off recording your own CDs (or at least buying one that you can listen to a sampling of the songs). This album includes songs that were mere recordings of the songs playing on an old record player. It's almost so unbelievable that it is funny.

Freedom: Songs from the Heart of America

Average customer rating:

One of the Best
Freedom ROCKS!
Freedom ROCKS!

Freedom: Songs from the Heart of America
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sing For Freedom: The Story Of The Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs
Voices Of The Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966
Freedom: A History of Us
An Inconvenient Truth

ASIN: B00007FOGP
Release Date: 2002-12-10

Tracks:

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - Nina Simone
America (My Country 'Tis Of Thee) - Washington Men's Camarata
Yankee Doodle - The Broadway Quartet (feat. Charles Harrison)
Because All Men Are Brothers - Peter, Paul & Mary w/ Dave Brubeck
Simple Gifts - The New York Philharmonic
The Star Spangled Banner - Duke Ellington
Amazing Grace - Willie Nelson
Erie Canal - Dan Zanes & Friends (feat. Suzanne Vega)
New River Train - Louise Massey & The Westerners
When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Dixie - Gil Tanner's Skillet Lickers
Follow The Drinking Gourd - Taj Mahal
Oh Freedom - The Boys Choir Of Harlem
The Battle Hymn of the Republic - Washington Men's Camarata
Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier - Pamela Warrick Smith
Shenandoah Lullabye - Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
Healing Song #1 - Verdell Primeaux,Johnny Mike & Robert Attson
Home On The Range - Gene Autry
America The Beautiful - Keb' Mo'
Can The Circle Be Unbroken - The Original Carter Family
Semper Fidelis - The Goldman Band
Stars and Stripes Forever! - New York Philharmonic

Tracks:

I'm On My Way (Live) - Mahalia Jackson
In My Merry Oldsmobile - Les Brown & His Orchestra
Keep Off The Grass - James P. Johnson
Over There - Arthur Fields
When The Moon Shines On The Moonshine - Bert Williams
The Death Of Mother Jones - Gene Autry
(What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue? - Louis Armstrong
Hittin' The Ceiling - Smith Ballew
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? - Bing Crosby (w/ Lennie Hayton & His Orchestra)
Dancing In The Dark - Ben Selvin & His Orchestra
The Gold Diggers' Song - Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (w/ The Boswell Sisters)12. God Bless America - Kate Smith
On The Trail - Pittsburgh Symphony Suite
This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie & Arlo Guthrie
Union Maid - The Almanac Singers (w/ Pete Seeger & Woody Guthrie)
Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
Trouble - Josh White
Joe Hill - Paul Robeson
We'll Meet Again - Peggy Lee (w/ Benny Goodman)
Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
The Freedom Train - Paul Weston Orchestra
Atom And Evil - Golden Gate Quartet
Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball? - Count Basie & His Orchestra
The Bourgeois Blues - Leadbelly
Fanfare For The Common Man - London Symphony Orchestra

Tracks:

The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
America - Chita Rivera, Marilyn Cooper & Reri Grist
A Change Is Gonna Come - Terence Trent D'Arby & Booker T & The MG's
We Shall Overcome - Mahalia Jackson
Dancing In The Street - Martha And The Vandellas
If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song) - Pete Seeger
This Little Light Of Mine (Live) - The Freedom Singers
Chimes Of Freedom (Live) - Bruce Springsteen
People Get Ready - The Impressions
America - Simon & Garfunkel
Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Us 'Round - Sweet Honey In The Rock
Stand! - Sly & The Family Stone
Freedom - Richie Havens
Goodnight Saigon - Billy Joel
Wake Up Everybody - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Fight The Power - The Isley Brothers
Song Of The Patriot - Johnny Cash (w/ Marty Robbins)
Hard Times - James Taylor
Open Letter (To A Landord) - Living Colour
Someday We'll All Be Free - Donny Hathaway

Amazon.com

Long annoyed with the dry, dusty nature of American history textbooks, author Joy Hakim set out to create a multivolume narrative that revolved around the deceptively simple idea of freedom. But as her books, the PBS series they spawned, and this, the show's soundtrack, have proven, it's a word whose meanings have been filtered through myriad historical, cultural, and political prisms. The three discs here span some 67 performances across 90 years of recording history, from WWI-era recordings of "Yankee Doodle" (who knew it had so many verses?) and Cohan's "Over There" through a dizzying array of folk, country, pop, R&B, and classical selections. And if it virtually ignores two decades of hip-hop and shortchanges nonvocal jazz (what's "freer" than Monk and Miles?), it's nonetheless an intriguing collection that delivers surprises and musical revelations on every disc.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Best.......2005-07-02

If you're going to spend some rather serious bucks on a compilation CD, you could do a lot worse than this! It takes us on a multidimensional, multigenerational trip through some of the plateaus of American music from the first half of the 20th century, on. I guess Columbia is trying to catch up with Sony on these all encompassing compilations, and if so, more power to them. This recording touches so many bases and appeals to so many different sensibilities, fans of different genres, etc. that it would be impossible to cover it in under 2,000 words. I'm far too lazy to attempt that, amyway. Suffice it to say that there isn't a bad cut on the CD and that the compilers actually took some thought into arranging the thing.

As it's nearing 4th of July this year and our country is not in the best of shape (OK, maybe I'm spending too much time looking in the mirror after my showers this summer!), this CD collection should come as a refreshing and fulfilling reminder of what American music is all about, and why we should remember why it's still a vital, freedom loving country, with room for differing styles, tastes, etc!

BEK

Freedom ROCKS!.......2002-12-19

I thought this was going to be yet another predictable compilation of traditional freedom songs.Thankfully,it's not. It's by far the best holiday gift I could ever imagine giving-great songs-great range of artists, doing songs both well known and unknown.I never heard Nina Simone's "I wish I knew how it would feel to be Free" and it's fantastic. Same holds true for Dave Brubeck's version of "Because all Men Are Brothers." In this time of forced patriotis,this compilation offers a creative and memorable collection of songs that are stirring-not sappy, fun and not forced-for listeners of all ages. Where else could you find Duke Ellington,Bruce Springsteen, Suzanne Vega and Mahalia Jackson..Billie Holiday, Woody and Arlo Guthrie,Bob Dylan, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Johnny Cash and Jerry Garcia?? It's amazing that such great music is finaly put together in one boxed set. I can't wait to see the tv version on which the cds are based.

Freedom ROCKS!.......2002-12-19

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