The 250 Years of America (Volume 2) – Various Artists (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

On the assumption that you will have come to this second volume of The 250 Years of America after encountering, and hopefully reading, the review that accompanies the first part of the sonic story, or that you have worked out the premise of the album from the title, I will not go into too much detail as to what lies ahead. Suffice it to say that, taken as a whole, these two albums are a celebration of America, Americanism, and American music to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.

By way of continuity, this second installment also opens with Ann M Wolf reimagining “The Star-Spangled Banner”, this time as “America’s Anthem (National Anthem: Yesterday, Today & Always” a gorgeously classic, and indeed classical-sounding take with just enough cascading piano to frame her impressive voice. A timely reinterpretation of a timeless anthem.

“This Land is Your Land” has always been a controversial song, Woody Guthrie‘s reminder that patriotism comes in many forms, a folk standard that celebrates the vast beauty of the country and the vast potential of the people in it. Here, E.G. Holmes and Willow Layne come together to give it a dream-roots makeover, a cinematic and serene take on one of America’s most iconic, alternative anthems.

If many songs of patriotism and duty take the powerful image of the fallen being brought back from foreign fields of battle, “Not Forgotten” is Chris Van Cleave reminding us that not everyone gets to return home and that many still lie where they fell, lost and unmarked across war zones the world over. But even if this is the case, their spirit and our memories of them are just as present in our lives, and their sacrifice is never forgotten, even if their final resting place is.

The aforementioned Mr Guthrie would have loved Inches From Sin, and “Weight of the World.” In it, his same familiar themes of compassion and equality, acceptance and love are central, a reminder, perhaps, of the tenets that these United States were founded on and that, having opened our arms to those tired, poor, and huddled masses, a reminder of how we should treat those of other creed and culture, the displaced and the disenfranchised.

“In God We Trust” is a big song for a big subject; Sweet Crystal offers us blasts of 80s rock and roll that mingle with symphonic sonics, anthemic choruses which balance more considered subtleties; the result is a song that Jim Steinman himself would have been especially proud of. Big, theatrical, classic rock…a modern-day rock and roll prayer! And again, with ” Raise A Hand,” Gar Francis finds that perfect blend between acoustic artistry and more powerful rock and roll urges. This song reminds us that as we are buffeted by the metaphorical storms of the modern world, we perhaps are not quite the masters of our own destiny that we thought, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still have a purpose.

And having referenced Woody Guthrie earlier, it is fairly fitting that his fellow folk icon, Pete Seeger, is represented with “We Shall Overcome,” Ann M. Wolf taking the civil rights anthem and moving it gradually out of the folk world it was born in and into a more modern, rock-infused place.

The Dennis Scott Singers help us play out of the album with the gospel-vocal-soaked “My Prayer For America,” followed by Boys ‘N’ Barry’s anthemic “Celebrating Our Freedom,” both songs that remind us why America is the leader of the free world.

The common thread here, which holds true for both these volumes, is not genre but storytelling, with each artist contributing a personal interpretation of what America means to them. The result is a varied and engaging collection that demonstrates how music remains one of the most effective ways to explore history, identity, and the experiences that continue to shape a nation.