City Newspaper Archives - 10/2007
Various Artists "The War"
LEGACY
Published by Ron Netsky on Oct 03, 2007
Over the past two weeks many viewers across the country have been transfixed by Ken Burns' brilliant 15-hour documentary, "The War," shown locally on WXXI. A key ingredient in Burns' ability to tell his stories is music, both vintage and contemporary, vividly evoking the zeitgeist. While a single CD contains highlights, a reasonably priced deluxe edition consists of four discs with more than 50 tracks, a 24-page booklet, and a viewer's guide. In the war context, tunes like "I'll Get By" (Harry James), "Memories Of You" (Louis Armstrong) and "Long Ago And Far Away" (Frank Sinatra) are heartbreaking. Along with dance hits of the era (including "One O'Clock Jump" by Count Basie and "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman) the set offers classical works reflecting desperation and disillusion. Among them are the third movement of Messiaen's "Quartet For The End Of Time" and Faure's "Elegie." While Wynton Marsalis' original music fits beautifully, Norah Jones' "American Anthem," while exquisite, seems out of place.
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