The Rose and the Briar - Death Love and Liberty in the American Ballad
Review by Joe Ross, Roseburg, Oregon - email rossjoe@hotmail.com

Simply, a ballad is a narrative poem put to music and meant to be sung. The themes most often found in American ballads are romantic, nostalgic or sentimental in some respect. Sean Wilentz and Greil Marcus served as editors for this collection of historic and contemporary ballads. Some like “Ommie Wise,” “Frankie” and “The Coo Coo Bird” were recorded in the 1920s, while tracks 4, 7 and 20 are previously unreleased and just recorded in 2004.

Sean Wilentz, a history professor at Princeton University, also serves as historian-in-residence at Bob Dylan's official website. Greil Marcus was an Old Dominion Fellow at Princeton in 2002, and he now lives in Berkeley, Ca. Both realized the importance of the ballad in America's history, and they identified a need to capture (in a book and CD) a representation of this important musical art form.

In an accompanying book, Sean Wilentz and Greil Marcus assembled an impressive group of writers and artists to assist them. Some include Paul Muldoon, Stanley Crouch, R. Crumb, Jon Langford, John Rockwell, Luc Sante, Joyce Carol Oates, and Dave Marsh. Many other novelists, essayists, performers, and critics also helped. They analyze and delve into the transcendent beauty and lasting power of the ballad. In the book (with its 25 illustrations), the collaborators provide a scholarly overview of America's most imaginative and expressive form. The book presents a variety of art and commentary about stories and storytellers balladry.

The CD that accompanies the book has many popular ballads such as "Barbara Allen" and "The Wreck of the Old 97." Even more contemporary ballads from Bob Dylan, Marty Robbins, Dolly Parton, Randy Newman and Bruce Springsteen are also included. The jump from a 1927 recording of “Ommie Wise” at track 3 to the Anna Domino's 2004 rendition of “Little Maggie” at track 4 shows an interesting juxtaposition of the traditional vs. the contemporary.

We can learn a lot about the history of our country and our America beliefs from studying about love, death, family, faith and liberty in these poetic songs. But where are all the train-themed and western ballads that we love so well? My hat's off to these musicologists who present an historical overview of a significant part of our nation's musical heritage. (Joe Ross)