Atomic Platters: Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security.(Sound recording review)

Atomic Platters: Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security. Bear Family BCD 16065 FM, 2005.

The German Bear Family label has long distinguished itself as a world-leading curator of classic American and European folk, bluegrass, country, and pop music. Its boxed sets of vintage recordings by such eminent figures as Hank Snow, the Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe and Wanda Jackson are legendary--not only for their exhaustiveness, the beauty of their packaging, and the depth of their annotation, but for the consistently high sound quality that comes from insisting on using master tapes as source material wherever possible.

Even by Bear Family standards, Atomic Platters is an eye-poppingly attractive set. Presented in a large (12" x 12" x 2") box, it includes five generously-packed audio CDs, a DVD, and a large and handsomely hardbound book containing extensive notes on all of the discs' contents as well as a long essay on Cold War-era American popular culture, all presented in both German and English. What the discs contain is a fascinating collection of songs, radio spots, and public-service announcements issued during the 1950s and 1960s, when Cold War tension was at its height. There are songs with titles like "Krushchev and the Devil" (by Jay Chevalier), "Bert the Turtle (The Duck and Cover Song)" (by Dick "Two Ton" Baker), and "Great Atomic Power" (by the Louvin Brothers). Artists represented include black gospel quartets--the Golden Gate Quartet's "Atom and Evil" is one of the set's most beautiful songs--as well as rockabilly guitar pickers, old-time brother duos, comedy acts (Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan are here singing "A Russian Love Song"), and others far too numerous to mention. Sprinkled ...