Performers include: Marvin Gaye, Masters Of Houston, William Bell, Dells, Funkadelic, Martha Reeves, Impressions and more.
As much a penetrating and painful lesson in American history as it is a fantastic set of vintage, obscure soul, Does Anybody Know I'm Here? Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 62-72 -- the follow-up to Kent's superb A Soldier's Sad Story -- 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, et al.), 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 mournful soul of Marvin Gaye's opening "Soldier's Plea" to the blistering funk of Funkadelic's closing "March to the Witch's Castle," 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 soul music at its finest. Other highlights include the Dells' title cut, Archie Bell & the Drells' "A Soldier's Prayer," and the Impressions' "Don't Cry My Love." ~ Jason Ankeny
Professional Reviews
Uncut (p.127) - 4 stars out of 5 - "23 instances of aching soul that are the perfect antidote to the notion that the '60s was one long live-in."
Living Blues (p.72) - "[T]he Funkadelic cut that closes the set mates its hard-hitting commentary to a chilling dirge that sounds like it could have served as the soundtrack for some of the darker moments of APOCALYPSE NOW..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.129) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Songs by real-life conscripts, William and Archie Bell, offer a soldier's perspective..."
