Civil War tale in country/rock music. The stand out track for me is Steve Cash's White Trash but the entire thing gells together tightly and of course, being a concept album each song compliments the other and carries the story forward..A tale from the American Civil War 1861-1865. White Mansions is a portrayal of life in the Confederate States of America 1861-1865. The high hopes and deep sorrows of the Southern People are reflected in the experiences of the four characters whose combined words tell the tale of the American Civil War.
John Dillon as MATTHEW J. FULLER, 23 year old son of a wealthy Georgian cotton planter. Brought up on a large plantation worked by 400 slaves, he attended both college and military acadamy and is dedicated to preserving the grand lifestyle of old Dixie. At the outbreak of the civil war, he joins a Georgia infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army as a captain.
Jessi Colter as POLLY AN STAFFORD, Matthew's beautiful sweetheart and lives an equally opulent life as the daughter of a neighbouring land owner and diplomat. Shortly after the start of the war, she serves the cause by working in a disease-ridden hospital attending to the many wounded and dying soldiers.
Steve Cash as CALEB STONE, white trash, a class of poor southern whites who have no profession, land or property. He finds work whenever he can as an overseer keeping order among the Negro field hands. He joins the fight just to preserve in only heritage, his superiority over the blacks.
Waylon Jennings as THE DRIFTER, acts as the narrator of this story. Descended from good southern stock, he has been unable to settle down since being wounded fighting for Texas in the Mexican war. He now leads a lonely life roaming from town to town. Not involved in the actual fighting, the Drifter views both sides clearly and says his piece with gentle strength and worldly wisdom.
I only stumbled across this album by chance as I was looking for an old album called, The Legend of Jesse James - a con
cept album featuring the likes of Johnny Cash that I remembered having on cassette once. And someone told me that these days it was on CD doubled together with this masterwork. And so one trip to Amazon and I've got the disc in my hand.I believe White Mansions is available as a single CD but Jesse James can currently only be obtained as part of this double - which is the best option in any case since both albums are great.
Check out White Trash below
4 comments:
I think the kids who get all their music by download are missing out on a lot. The musicians I know put a lot of thought into the order of the music on their albums. Part of the experience is hearing the songs in the order they're meant to be heard. That's really true for a concept album such as this one. When someone buys a song from this album and a song from that album, they're losing part of what the musician wanted to give them.
These are very interesting and ambitious albums, tackling American history from a new angle. With all the big names in the lineup, though, I expected exceptional musical performances - and never quite found them.
Funny--to me, "White Trash" is one of the most forgettable tracks, totally overshadowed by the tracks that Waylon Jennings and Jessi Coulter sing on.
But I agree; this is an absolutely amazing album. A hidden treasure.
Kullvero - each to their own I suppose. I just love the rocking feel to White Trash and the lyrics are pretty cool too. It grooves along.
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