Music Album Review: 'The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack'

(C) 2017 Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), Florentine Films, and PBS. (Photo Credit: PBS.org)

On September 15, 2017, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) released The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack, a 2-CD album that features 38 of the 120 music tracks used in the 10-part, 18-hour documentary that premiered two days later on the 300-member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Per the press release from UMe, the album complemented Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ The Vietnam War: The Original Score, which features 90 minutes’ worth of instrumental music composed for the most in-depth exploration of the Vietnam War yet filmed.

According to the UMe public relations staff’s press release issued last August:

Sarah Botstein, the senior producer on the film, said, "We are indebted to a great number of musicians, their families, agents, lawyers, technicians and others, all of whom came together to make it possible for our film to include these extraordinary songs.  We can all agree that the music from this time was unprecedented in its originality and impact.  We could not have told this story without access to these iconic tunes. Much of this music remains popular among people of all ages, and it was a true privilege to put the music in its historical context and understand why it continues to resonate today."

"We are honored to work with Ken, Lynn, Sarah, Trent, Atticus and all of the artists who contributed music to the film and the soundtrack. Each piece of music was chosen after careful deliberation as each song transports you to a specific time, sets the tone, and connects you to that moment," adds Bruce Resnikoff, President/CEO, UMe.

The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack

If you’ve ever watched any of Ken Burns’ documentaries – especially such epic-length films as The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, or The War, you probably know how well he and his collaborators at Florentine Films understand the intimate relationship of music – especially period music – and images in film. Music, after all, is a powerful presence in our lives, and the songs of our youth follow us during all the stages of our natural lives, triggering memories of happier – or darker – times in our personal and national histories. 

The Vietnam War – or as the Vietnamese call it, “the American War” – is a catch-all phrase that refers to the eight-year period in which large numbers of U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel were directly involved in an undeclared war with North Vietnamese troops and their Communist guerrilla allies – the Viet Cong – to determine the fate of America’s ally, South Vietnam. This period, which began in March of 1965 and ended eight years later with the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from South Vietnam and the release of American prisoners of war from North Vietnamese prisons, is the main focus of The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick.

It’s fitting, then, that the producers – both at UMe and Florentine Films – were able to get together with lawyers, agents, artists (or their families) to get clearances for the 120 songs and pop-rock instrumentals used in the 10-part documentary that aired on PBS in the fall of 2017 (and can be owned on Blu-ray and DVD from PBS Home Distribution).  As the ShopPBS.org product listing for The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack says, the two-disc set presents “tracks from the Vietnam War era, including for the first time a track by The Beatles included in a non-Beatles film. Tracks include Bob Dylan, Booker T and the MG's, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Howlin’ Wolf, Marvin Gaye, Simon & Garfunkel, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Otis Redding, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, plus many more.”

The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack’s 38 tracks (for some reason, the product listing at ShopPBS.org says 37, but it’s 38) represent almost one-third of the music heard on the 18-hour series. (A separate album with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ instrumental score was released at the same time as The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack.) The songs heard in this 134-minute-long compilation album encompass the years between 1962 (A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall) and 1976 (Ray Charles’ cover of America the Beautiful) and convey a wide range of themes and emotions. Some songs (Hello Vietnam by Johnnie Wright and Okie from Muskogee by Merle Haggard) represent rural (and conservative) views that support the war; others are protest songs (Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth; Pete Seeger’s Waist Deep In The Big Muddy), while others were songs that young people of the time – on both sides of the political divide – listened to on the radio or danced to at festivals such as Woodstock (Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? The Byrds’  Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season).

The album’s length and large number of songs does not permit me to give readers a track-by-track descriptive review. We are talking about an album with over two hours’ worth of music, which represents arguably some of the best popular music ever written.

I will say this, though. The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack is an excellently conceived and produced album that perfectly complements a landmark television documentary that every American – whether liberal, conservative, or uncommitted – should watch.

Not only that, but as a musical listening experience, The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack is a recording that has plenty to offer to various constituencies, including:

·         The Baby Boom Generation – the age group that, for good or ill, was most profoundly affected by the Vietnam War. The kids who were born in the first decade of the Baby Boom period (c. 1945-1955) were the ones who served in the armed forces – either as draftees or volunteers – or protested against the Vietnam War on college campuses or the streets of America

·         Music fans, especially pop/rock aficionados, because, you know, the album features legendary artists such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, Janis Joplin, Booker T & the MGs, and The Beatles

·         Late Boomers – those Baby Boom Generation kids born at the tail end of the era who were far too young to understand the war, its complex origins and the controversies that swirled around it, yet spent their childhoods in Vietnam’s shadow

I’m a member of that last demographic – a kid who was born two years before President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the first combat units to South Vietnam and lived through the tumultuous events that followed. For me, The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack is evocative of a tragic period marked by the Kennedy-King assassinations, social upheaval in the U.S. and abroad, the growing divide between conservative and liberal America, cynicism about government and its relationship with the citizenry, and “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.”

Although I’m not enamored of every track in The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack, this album is definitely worth getting for any music lover’s audio collection. Some of my favorite songs from the Sixties and early Seventies are in this two-disc set, including Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence, Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth, The Beatles’ Let It Be, and – perversely – Okie from Muskogee by Merle Haggard.

If you watched The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, or if you did not but like music from the Vietnam era, The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – The Soundtrack is definitely worth looking into. It’s become one of my favorite albums since I bought it last fall; I highly recommend it.

Track List

Disc 1: 

1. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall - Bob Dylan
2. Hello Vietnam - Johnnie Wright
3. It's My Life - The Animals
4. Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire
5. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) - The Byrds
6. Masters of War - The Staple Singers
7. Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett
8. Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf
9. Backlash Blues - Nina Simone
10. The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
11. One Too Many Mornings - Bob Dylan
12. Ain't Too Proud To Beg - Temptations
13. Are You Experienced? - Jimi Hendrix
14. I'm a Man - Spencer Davis Group
15. Green Onions - Booker T & The MG's
16. Strange Brew - Cream
17. Waist Deep In The Big Muddy - Pete Seeger
18. A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum
19. The Lord Is In This Place - Fairport Convention
20. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield

Disc 2: 

1. Don't Think Twice It's Alright - Bob Dylan
2. Piece Of My Heart - Janis Joplin
3. Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
4. Tell The Truth - Otis Redding
5. The Letter - The Box Tops
6. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
7. Soul Sacrifice - Santana
8. Okie From Muskogee - Merle Haggard
9. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King
10. Psychedelic Shack - Temptations
11. Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
12. Get Together - The Youngbloods
13. Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones
14. Tail Dragger - Link Wray
15. America The Beautiful - Ray Charles
16. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
17. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
18. Let It Be - The Beatles

Sources:

The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick - The Soundtrack

ShopPBS.org 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-soundtrack-releases-to-accompany-new-ken-burns--lynn-novick-film-the-vietnam-war-300505441.html