As much a penetrating and painful lesson in American history as it is a fantastic set of vintage
soul
,
A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73
documents a very different dimension of antiwar protest music --
Edwin Starr
's classic
"War"
aside, the mainstream antiwar canon comprises songs written and performed almost entirely by white folkies (
Bob Dylan
Phil Ochs
Barry McGuire
, etc.), but the African-American response was just as potent and provocative, with an underlying sense of hopelessness and disenfranchisement that speaks volumes about the mindset of the black counterculture as war raged not only in Southeast Asia but also in places like Detroit and Watts. Ranging from the gritty
deep soul
of
James Carr
(
"Let's Face Facts"
) to the sweet
folk
-
Bill Withers
"I Can't Write Left-Handed"
), the set spans not only musical styles but also varying shades of polemical intensity -- some cuts are confrontational and direct, others elegiac and allegorical, but all burn with the emotional honesty and complexity that are the hallmarks of
music at its finest. Other highlights include
Mel & Tim
's
"Mail Call Time,"
the Monitors
'
"Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam),"
Johnny & Jon
"Christmas in Vietnam,"
and
the O'Jays
"There's Someone (Waiting Back Home)."
~ Jason Ankeny