Music Album Review: 'The War: A Ken Burns Film - The Soundtrack'

(C) 2007 Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Florentine Films

On August 21, 2007, Sony’s Legacy Recordings released The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack, a 17-track compilation album of music from the eponymous seven-part documentary directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.

The one-CD album was co-produced by Burns, Novick, Sarah Botstein, and Delfeayo Marsalis (the younger brother of jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, who served as music supervisor for The War and composed several original pieces for its score). With an eclectic mix of World War II-era performances, classical music composed many years after V-E and V-J Days, and original music written for the series, The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack was one of four recordings dropped by Legacy Recordings and Sony Classical to coincide with the television series’ premiere on September 26, 2007.

The other three records – sold separately and in a 4-CD Deluxe box set along with this album – are:

·         Sentimental Journey: Hits from the Second World War – The War: A Ken Burns Film

·         I’m Beginning to See the Light: Dance Hits from the Second World War – The War: A Ken Burns Film

·         Songs Without Words: Classical Music from The War: A Ken Burns Film

THE WAR, a seven-part series directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The series explores the most intimate human dimensions of the greatest cataclysm in history, and demonstrates that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

This stunning soundtrack recording to Ken Burns’s epic series features seventeen pieces of music from the film. It includes war-era favorites from Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, and Nat “King” Cole, as well as music by Edgar Meyer, Aaron Copland, and Yo-Yo Ma. The soundtrack also features new compositions by Wynton Marsalis, and Norah Jones’ breathtaking performance – exclusive to this album.- back cover blurb, The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack

Track List for The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack

1.             "American Anthem" - Norah Jones 5:08

2.             "Walton: The Death of Falstaff" - Leonard Slatkin: London Philharmonic Orchestra           3:38

3.             "The Wang Wang Blues" - The Benny Goodman Sextet            2:52

4.             "Movin' Back" - Wynton Marsalis   2:47

5.             "How Long Blues" - Count Basie    2:58

6.             "In the Nick of Time" - Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, Mike Marshall      6:13

7.             "It's Been a Long, Long Time" - Bing Crosby with Les Paul     3:00

8.             "America My Home (excerpt)" - Wynton Marsalis      2:18

9.             "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)" - Kay Starr, accompanied by the Capitol International Jazzmen           2:48

10.          "Blues as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur (excerpt)" - Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Ensemble 4:28

11.          "Until I'm in Your Arms Again" - Wynton Marsalis    2:42

12.          "Part: Variations for the Healing of Arinushka" - Kalle Randalu              5:10

13.          "Basie Boogie" - Count Basie & His Orchestra             2:24

14.          "Solitude" - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 3:15

15.          "Copland: Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, Harp and Piano (excerpt)" - Benny Goodman; Aaron Copland: Columbia Symphony Orchestra          7:45

16.          "If You Can't Smile and Say Yes" - The King Cole Trio             2:34

17.          "American Anthem" - Amanda Forsyth And Bill Charlap           1:44

Total Album Time:             61:44

My Take

Although – like most soundtrack albums, and especially those from films or documentaries with long running times – The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack is a “greatest hits” collection rather than a presentation of the complete score, it’s still a good album. 

For the most part, the producers stick to music that was heard on the actual soundtrack of The War: A Ken Burns Film. Some of the tracks present songs and artists from the period covered in the series – the late 1930s and early to mid-1940s. Listeners will hear Benny Goodman’s Wang Wang Blues, Count Basie’s Basie Boogie, Bing Crosby’s smooth vocal performance of It’s Been a Long, Long Time (backed by guitarist Les Paul), and Duke Ellington’s Solitude.

There are also several classical music compositions – many of which are also in Songs Without Words. The most prominent work is Sir William Walton’s The Death of Falstaff, performed here by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor Leonard Slatkin. This brooding, melancholic work is heard in each of The War’s seven episodes, and owners of the series’ DVD or Blu-ray sets will recognize it as the music heard on the main menu screen.

Still other pieces, such as America My Home and Movin’ Back, were composed and arranged by the series’ music supervisor, Wynton Marsalis. Together with contemporary works such as Gene Scheer’s American Anthem, these new melodies are mixed with the period pieces to create a musical palette that encompasses all of the emotional colors of the 15-hour series.

The one major divergence from Florentine Films’ previous practice is the first track, Norah Jones’ exclusive-to-this-album performance of Scheer’s American Anthem. Jones – the daughter of Ravi Shankar – does double-duty as vocalist and pianist in this song – a hymn to the spirit of self-sacrifice, duty, and love of country exhibited self-effacingly by the men and women who served on the battle lines and toiled in the home front during the War:

All we've been given by those who came before
The dream of a nation where freedom would endure
The work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day
What shall be our legacy? What will our children say? 

Let them say of me I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings I received.
Let me know in my heart when my days are through
America, America, I gave my best to you.  – Music and lyrics by Gene Scheer

Listeners who have not watched The War should know that though American Anthem is heard throughout the seven episodes of Burns’ documentary in several forms, it is not the series’ opening theme in the same way that Ashokan Farewell was in The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns.

Though some casual audiophiles may be put off by the mix of classical music, original score tracks, and songs from the Second World War, soundtrack and Ken Burns film aficionados will enjoy The War: A Ken Burns Film – The Soundtrack.  It reflects the tragedy of a war that killed over 50 million men, women, and children – the vast majority of whom were unarmed civilians. But it also celebrates the immense sense of purpose and national unity that the Second World War instilled in Waterbury, CT, Mobile, AL, Luverne, MN, Sacramento, CA, and every other town in America. Burns’ film – and its musical score – is a window to a time in U.S. history that was without precedent and may never come again.