Imagine
Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome album, and then imagine an album of American folk songs that's about as far away from
Springsteen's performances as it could possibly be. Whether that idea appeals to you will indicate your level of potential interest in The Songs We Sang, which is something of a throwback to the
Mitch Miller era -- and shows the level of musical professionalism that always characterized
Miller's productions. The
VocalEssence Ensemble Singers have precise intonation, very skillful blend, and an altogether pleasant sound. They're accompanied by peppy background groups -- some combination of guitar, harmonica, accordion, bass, and piano -- that range from bland to cornball, and their articulation, while it's so clear that educators could use this disc to introduce speakers of other languages to American songs, comes off as a bit stilted in phrases like "live and die in Dixie," where the two ds in "and die" are cleanly severed. It's high school choir folk song, with arrangements that add some slightly lush harmonies but never a level of complexity. It works best, perhaps, in the sweet melodies and harmonies of slower numbers like Annie Laurie, and worst, perhaps, in play-party songs like Skip to My Lou, which has an annoyingly singsong quality. The program ends oddly with a set of contemporary Western songs like Cool Water and even
Marilyn Bergman's Hooray for the Cowboys, which are not by any stretch of the imagination folk songs, but there's plenty of musicianship on display here, and the disc is worth attention simply because it's the sort of thing that not many ensembles attempt anymore.