topolski's Full Review: Stars & Stripes by Acoustix Barbershop Quartet
This was one of the first barbershop quartet CD's I've purchased, and even though that was five years ago, it's one of the ones I still play the most.
Barbershop quartet? Wasn't that 1920s or something? Barbershop quartetting (parlor singing, recreational harmonizing, etc.) had its heyday in the early 1900s when music was mostly sold by the sheet for singing around the family piano. But the 60+ year old Barbershop Harmony Society has revived, refined, and grown the art form to near perfection, and the result can be heard on this CD.
The opening song is the John Philip Sousa "Stars and Stripes Forever." We're so used to hearing this song done by marching bands that we've forgotten that Sousa wrote words to it! The Acoustix treatment of this David Wright arrangement is awe inspiring. This is not background music -- you'll stop and admire the song, the singing, and the patriotism stirring within your own heart.
Later, there's God Bless The USA -- the familar Lee Greenwood tune, as you've never heard it before. With a light orchestral background that never overwhelms the vocals, this barbershop quartet does something controversial -- adds instrumentation. And even though later in their career, Acoustix lets the instruments overcome the singing in "Jazz, Jazz, Jazz" (another CD), in God Bless The USA and other tracks on this CD, the instruments are merely complementing and complimenting the voices.
Another accompanied track is the Unchained Melody. Again here the voices have the spotlight, even though this song has the most instrumentation. The song is a lot of fun.
Acoustix was the champion quartet of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Panache, a women's championship quartet, appears twice on this CD, as does the world champion Vocal Majority chorus in the final song.
So Many Voices Hear Americas Song remind us of our diversity and strength within our differences. The quartet is counterbalanced by the 150-voice men's chorus and a symphony orchestra. While this song may never become your favorite, it is a fitting ending to a great patriotic CD full of wonderful music and singing.
The CD is available at most web outlets selling CDs or on the Acoustix website at www.acoustix.com.
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