Editorial Reviews

America Will Stand offers a contemporary perspective on the Civil War, as it unfolded on the field of battle and on the home front. The album's musical palette is acoustically based -- heavy on mandolin, fiddle, and penny whistle -- with contemporary flourishes discreetly advanced by the occasional electric guitar, B-3 organ, or poignant wash of strings. Darryl Worley sets the tone on the opener, "Shiloh (Presence of the Past)," when he intones, in a near whisper, "What happened here is more than we can grasp" as he visits one of the war's bloodiest battlefields. In "Woman Back Home," the Whites, their velvety voices rising in close, stirring family harmony, sing of one of the war's least scrutinized aspects, the fears and supportive gestures of the soldiers' womenfolk. A keening, bluegrass-inflected background complements the rage fueling Lee Ann Womack's biting commentary from the wife left alone in the Ricky Skaggs-produced "On a Woman's Heart." A land reunited and strengthened in the war's aftermath is the theme of the solemn but rousing title track, on which Randy Travis's triumphant vocal is supported by a gospel-style chorus and booming percussion. The jingoistic album title may be off-putting to some, but the surprise inside is that the songs remain focused on the human element, not hawkish flag waving -- a bold move perhaps, but one that lends the project a timeless aspect. David McGee, Barnes & Noble

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