The Military Band: Salute to the Services

I was extremely delighted to find it here all these years later as I never hoped it was still available today much less in CD format. It is the benchnmark to which all other military march CDs are compared. The energy, tempo and attention to detail stir the patriot in us all.

I feel very forunate to be able to, once again, own this recording in CD format. THANK YOU MR. FELIX SLATKIN for this work of great patriotism!


WOW!!!   October 7, 2000
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This CD contains the essence of military band music. Sousa is not called the "March King" for nothing! The best of Sousa is included here. Also I love the way all the music of the armed forces is connected by the percussion-there is no silence between these stirring melodies. Two other greats are here too-"National Emblem" and "Under the Double Eagle". What a great addition to any music collection.


What an introduction to military marches!   November 10, 2001
P. Smith (Windham, ME United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I purchased this CD after watching "Star and Stripes Forever" on AMC one weekend and becoming interested in learning about Sousa, and marches in general. It is IMPOSSIBLE to not find yourself in a good mood, with toes tapping, when listening to this music. Picking "favorites" from the tunes on this CD is very difficult since they're all so good, but I'd have to choose "The U.S. Field Artillery March" (I'm a former field artilleryman, so I kinda had to pick that one!), "Stars and Stripes Forever", "National Emblem", "Under the Double Eagle", and "American Patrol." In no way does that mean the rest of the marches aren't superlative! I'm very much looking forward to learning more about this fascinating musical genre.


Performance of military marches as good as it gets   November 18, 2004
Jerry H. Tempelman (New York, NY)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is a terrific CD. I had hoped to find one with marches by the U.S. Marine Corps Band ("The President's Own"), but for some reason they appear to have exclusively recorded Sousa marches, and I wanted some non-Sousa ones (e.g. National Emblem) as well. So I took a chance on this one, in part based on the other reviews here.

Everything about this CD turned out great: the selection of the repertoire, the quality of play, the balance of the instruments, and even the bright and clear sound, in spite of having been recorded almost half a century ago. Although the ensemble was a studio band gathered for the occasion rather than one of the military forces bands, the result sounds entirely authentic, including on such well-worn but important pieces as Stars and Stripes Forever and The Star Spangled Banner.

If there is one shortcoming, it is the 38 minute elpee-format length, which is short by CD standards. I read somewhere that Felix Slatkin recorded two of these elpees. If so, it's too bad they didn't stick both on this CD. But this is really a minor point, especially when you consider the $11 price, which is also low by first-rate CD standards.

Highly recommended!


Slatkin, the Elder   October 9, 2000
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Just about anything Maestro Felix S touched with his baton is blessed with magic. And this is no exception.