Various Artists

Civil War buffs will love this collection of period songs from the U.S. and Confederate navies, but their appeal isn't limited to memorabilia collectors and battlefield re-enactors. Anyone interested in American folk music will be fascinated by these tunes. Often archaic in language and cadence and with melodies dating from medieval Britain, many of these songs were swiftly penned to commemorate particular battles or incidents. They carried on the ancient tradition of ballads as conveyors of news into the dawn of the mass communication age. The performers featured on Civil War Naval Songs achieve the rough-and-tumble authenticity of sailors singing with lusty abandon, sawing away over tankards of ale on concertina, fiddle and dulcimers.