V/A - Divided & United:

The Songs Of The Civil War

(ATO 0882188429) 2013

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This 2xCD set of American Civil War songs, was put together with the help of Randall Poster, whose credits include music for TV series 'Boardwalk Empire' and the 'Moonrise Kingdom' film.^[1] It features a good selection of songs, which were either written about the war, or popularised at the time; with quite an impressive cast of performers drawn from the old-time / bluegrass / country genres.

It's noticeable how some of the tunes were adopted by both sides, and ironic that the confederate favourite (I Wish I Was In) Dixie was composed by a minstrel artist from New York. The 32 songs included, also cover the war from many different perspectives.

Ralph is featured singing The Vacant Chair, which first appeared in the 'Worcester Spy' newspaper around Thanksgiving 1861. It was written to commemorate the death of Lieutentant John William Grout of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry, who was killed at the Battle Of Ball's Bluff.^[2] Personnel on the track are:-

• Ralph Stanley: vocal
• Barry Bales: bass
• Jason Carter: fiddle
• Shawn Lane: harmony vocal
• James Alan Shelton: guitar
• Bryan Sutton: guitar, banjo, harmony vocal

The CD comes in a fold-out digipak, and there's a 32-page booklet including details of the individual songs, and liner notes by Sean Wilentz and John Cohen. There are also three short films on youtube, giving the background behind the project, including interviews with some of the artists (but not Ralph).^[3]

Other artwork / related images:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divided_%26_United
[2] From the liner notes.
[3] See:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTetCEjMb0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWMKqdtuYrQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krN09_0nEew