| Where We Live - Various Artists | |
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Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
Stand For What You Stand On -- Where We Live is a moving collection of 16 tracks gathered from some of the finest artists in music and brought together to benefit Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law firm, dedicated to protecting the Earth and the people's right to clean air and water. Earthjustice's services are donated to organizations and communities to assist in bringing about change by strengthening and enforcing environmental laws. This powerful message is an important one, and the disc is a tremendous achievement in entertainment to help forward this movement.
The disc starts out with the soulful "Peace" by Norah Jones, with light jazz piano that sounds channeled through Vince Guaraldi. "Peace" is from Norah's award-winning album Come Away With Me. Her golden voice is a treat no matter where you find it. "I Shall Not Be Moved" is a blues number from Pops Staples with Ry Cooder, the old standard folk tune sounding laid-back and pure Delta with some wicked slide guitar and Pops' rough voice coming up from murky, delicious depths.
Los Lobos contribute a live version of the Marvin Gaye classic, "What's Going On," a song which could have very well been written for the project, it's lyrics just as true today as they were when they were written. Bob Dylan's wicked strong "Watching The River Flow" combines his his signature folksy lyrics with fire-hot electric guitar playing and some powerful jazz piano. Maria Muldaur gets together with Bonnie Raitt on "It's a
Blessing," a traditional blues contribution from Muldaur's album Richland Woman Blues. It's a flavor of gospel-and-blues, powerfully sung by two magnificent female vocalists.
The album also contains some wonderful Tejano from Ruben Blades, "Estampa," as well as the gentle sounds of Dan Zanes doing the old standby, "What A Wonderful World." There is a marvelous track from Michael Franti & Spearhead, "Yes, I Will," a combination of blues, folk, and rock from a positive hip-hop artist with a tremendous voice and a good message. Willie Nelson contributes "Living in the Promiseland," a beautiful track from his 1986 The Promiseland. The Neville Brothers bring a heartfelt, Latino-flavored hip-hop tribute to Rosa Parks with "Sister Rosa."
The Jamacian gospel group Sweet Honey in the Rock give a swinging Calypso beat to "More Than a Paycheck." Karen Savoca presents a light rock tune called "Two Little Feet." Mose Allison's contribution is a light jazz and blues cross, "Getting There." Tina Turner, singing with Robert Cray, presents a live version of the Sam Cooke song, "A Change Is Gonna Come."
John Hammond sings "I Know I've Been Changed" with the amazing Tom Waits, an acoustic blues tune with a sweet flavor of gospel. The disc ends with Captain Beefheart's rendition of "Happy Earthday" to Mother Earth, which was sung over the phone into the computer of disc compiler Mike Kappas. It's the first new music recorded by Captain Beefheart since 1982, and it's a tremendously funny 35 seconds.
All in all, it's a blues/jazz/gospel treat, a slice of Americana, packaged for an important cause with an important message. While not all of the songs discuss the message the disc was produced for, it still comes clear -- we all live here on this Earth together, and together is the only way we're going to keep ourselves alive by treating the Earth right. For further information about Earthjustice, go to their website Earthjustice.org.
Song List:
Album cover, used with permission of Earthjustice.org
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