This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #136 (June/July 2008).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Shaking Out the Sheets

Dirty Linen Classics

by Jeffery R. Lindholm

Various Artists
Song of America
Split Rock/31 Tigers 1206546-6 (2007), 3-CD

The concept seems too big to be contained on even a three-CD box set: the history of America in song. Somehow, the 50 songs (for the 50 states?) on Song of America don't seem enough. On disc, it really works, even though it took Nashville singer-producer Ed Pettersen nine years to bring the project to fruition. The "various artists" (from the famous to the obscure) bring a freshness and vitality to songs (from the famous to the obscure) that, excuse the cliché, bring history alive.

The idea for the collection came from former Attorney General Janet Reno, whose niece is married to Pettersen. As Reno wrote in the liner notes, "I thought that music would be a way to engage students, to spark their interest so they could gain a greater understanding and appreciation of our history…. It is important to know our history to understand the importance our own actions have in shaping our future."

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #136 (June/July 2008).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Copyright ©2008 Visionation, Ltd.