Hope Your Pride Ain't Raggy

From the Salvation Army comes our first selection:

American Pride - Sixteen Stirring Patriotic Themes

01. America the Beautiful (3:19)

02. Yankee Doodle Boy (1:34)

03. Medal of Honor (3:45)

04. Pioneer Spirit (4:16)

05. Simple Gifts (3:16)

06. Stars and Stripes Forever (1:48)

07. Battle Hymn of the Republic (3:04)

08. Dixie (4:38)

09. When Johnny Comes Marching Home (3:06)

10. American Dream (4:06)

11. Grand Old Flag (1:41)

12. Hail to the Chief (1:18)

13. My Country 'Tis of Thee (1:28)

14. Yankee Doodle (1:41)

15. Old Glory (2:59)

16. Star Spangled Banner (1:59)

This begins as an OK synth panorama from 1998.  A sense of humor and/or a little spriteliness is detected, and welcome.  A couple of tracks, like 3 and 4, might be originals.  But they are sufficiently tropish to work … until we get to the vocals on “Battle Hymn,” a track which runs right over the edge into cynical sentimentalism for me.

Unfortunately, the overacting comes out again in the oh-so-flamboyant vocals for the last track, our National Anthem.  Just like a political speech, passion should be used sparingly, not vomited all over the carpet.

***

Peabody Ragtime Ensemble - Ragtime Band

01. Solace (A Mexican Serenade) (4:23)

02. Something Doing - a Ragtime Two-Step (3:34)

03. Augustan Club Waltz (4:27)

04. Heliotrope Bouquet - a Slow Drag Two-Step (3:51)

05. Pleasant Moments - a Ragtime Waltz (3:06)

06. Stoptime Rag (2:07)

07. Daddy Won't You Please Come Home (3:48)

08. Troublesome Ivories - a Ragtime Rag (2:39)

09. My Handyman Ain't Handy No More (4:07)

10. Baltimore Todolo (2:52)

11. Memories of You (3:55)

12. Poor Katie Red (Eubie's Slow Drag) (4:22)

This is some pretty good music, presented in a crummy way on cassette in 1984.  That is, one of the songs on side 2 (Track 10 in this file) wasn't even listed on the cassette liner!

See you Monday for the final week in our salute to our fine nation.