4 weeks ago
16
My Morning Jacket are standing with the people of Minneapolis with the release of Peacelands, a benefit album featuring acoustic protest songs. With proceeds supporting the American Civil Liberties Union, Doctors Without Borders, and the International Rescue Committee, the 14-track collection is available for $9.99 via Bandcamp. You can also stream it below.
Recorded with producer Shawn Everett (Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs) at Hollywood, California’s famed EastWest Studios’ Studio Three, the album sees frontman Jim James delivering stripped down renditions of MMJ favorites and solo tracks, including “I’m Amazed,” “State of the Art,” and “Here in Spirit.” Alongside these are covers of Bob Dylan (“Blowin’ in the Wind”), Brian Wilson (“Love and Mercy”), The Velvet Underground (“I Found a Reason”), Sonny Boy Williamson (“Don’t Lose Your Eye”), and Timmy Thomas (“Why Can’t We Live Together” and “Rainbow Power”). There’s also a new version of the Woody Guthrie-penned “Changing World,” which James previously recorded for the 2012 New Multitudes project.
In a press statement, James said the title Peacelands comes from Louisville artist Mark Anthony Mulligan, whose work envisioned “an imaginary land of peace, friendship, and equality.” Noting that he believes such a world is achievable “if only we can learn to listen, love, and forgive in paths of peace, acceptance, and tolerance,” James continued:
“We stand with the people of Minnesota and everywhere else affected by the horrors of ICE brutality and lack of human decency or transparency from this administration.
There is room for everyone to be safe and free and at home in this vast world and we need to find a new path together to safe and humane immigration policy and reform rooted in peace and love… safety and equality… and new systems of fairness, freedom, and transparent justice for all.”
Stream Peacelands and purchase it via Bandcamp below. You’ll also find the full album art (which James says comes from an unknown artist whose “handmade wood carving I found years ago at a second-hand store in Missoula called Circle Square”), and full songwriting credits.
Peacelands Artwork:
Peacelands Tracklist:
01. Why Can’t We Live Together (Timmy Thomas)
02. New World Coming (Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil)
03. Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson)
04. Here in Spirit (Jim James)=
05. Rainbow Power (Timmy Thomas)
06. I’m Amazed (Jim James)
07. Don’t Lose Your Eye (Sonny Boy Williamson)
08. Changing World (Woody Guthrie and Jim James)
09. State of the Art (Jim James)
10. Blowin’ in the Wind (Bob Dylan)
11. Everything Must Change (Benard Ighner)
12. In the Moment (Jim James)
13. Together Again (Buck Owens)
14. I Found a Reason (Lou Reed)
English (US) · 