Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Instant Karma

http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/676

Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. A Tribute to John Lennon. (2-CDs)
Top Artists Doing Lennon Covers
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS

An online reviewer glows about this "Save Darfur" album of John Lennon covers:

""Instant Karma, the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur" is a good set of John Lennon covers. I believe John would have been proud of this effort to use his music to draw attention & bring relief to the people of this area. In musical terms, it's more successful than the "Working Class Hero" covers compilation that came out some years ago. Of the tracks, I have two favorites from each of the discs. Corinne Bailey Rae brings a new feel to "I'm Losing You" with a more piano-based arrangement in a live recording. Her powerhouse vocals are distinctive, "Here in the valley of indecision; I don't know what to do; I feel you slipping away." Jakob Dylan featuring Dhani Harrison do a great job on "Gimme Some Truth" with Harrison's guitar bleeding during the instrumental break & Jakob's voice sounding world weary, "No short haired yellow bellied son of Tricky Dicky is going to Mother Hubbard soft soap me with just a pocket full of hope." On the second disc my favorites include the whimsical Postal Service's version of "Grow Old with Me," "Face the setting sun when the day is done, God bless our love." Jack's Mannequin featuring Mick Fleetwood does a great job on Lennon's "God," not the easiest track to cover with its complex lyric, "God is a concept by which we measure our pain." Other tracks on the disc are also excellent. I like R.E.M.'s "#9 Dream," Jackson Brown's take on "Oh, My Love," Green Day's "Working Class Hero" & Jack Johnson's simplified "Imagine." Only two tracks have me want to move along on the disc: Lenny Kravitz's take on "Cold Turkey" & the Flaming Lips' "(Just Like) Starting Over." This is a strong set with some excellent standouts. It's nice to hear John's music echoing forward on behalf of an important cause. Enjoy!"

The album is a 2 Disc Set:

Disc: 1
1. Instant Karma -- U2
2. #9 Dream -- R.E.M.
3. Mother -- Christina Aguilera
4. Give Peace A Chance -- Aerosmith with Sierra Leone Refuge All-Stars
5. Cold Turkey -- Lenny Kravitz
6. Whatever Gets You Through the Night -- Los Lonely Boys
7. I'm Losing You -- Corinne Bailey Rae
8. Gimme Some Truth -- Jakob Dylan Feat. Dhani Harrison
9. Oh, My Love -- Jackson Browne
10. Imagine -- Avril Lavigne
Plus 2 more tracks

Disc: 2
1. Working Class Hero -- Green Day
2. Power to the People -- Black Eyed Peas
3. Imagine -- Jack Johnson
4. Beautiful Boy -- Ben Harper
5. Isolation -- Snow Patrol
6. Watching the Wheels -- Matisyahu
7. Grow Old With Me -- Postal Service
8. Gimme Me Some Truth -- Jaguares
9. (Just Like) Starting Over -- The Flaming Lips
10. God -- Jack's Mannequin feat. Mick Fleetwood
Plus 1 more track

From Amnesty International:

"Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur," the new global "Make Some Noise" project from Amnesty International, seeks to mobilize millions around the urgent catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan. It combines the power of John Lennon's music recorded by some of the world's best-known artists, together with cutting-edge forms of instant activism enabled by Internet and mobile technologies.

The project will call attention to the urgent situation in Darfur where between 2 and 400,000 have died, 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes, and 4.5 million people in Darfur and hundreds of thousands in the neighboring countries of Chad and Central African Republic are at risk of starvation, disease, and further attacks. Yoko Ono generously granted rights to John Lennon’s entire solo songbook to Amnesty International, the world’s largest grassroots human rights organization, to use as the centerpiece of this project and to inspire and invigorate a new generation of human rights activists.

Musical artists, including U2,Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz, Green Day, Ben Harper, and Aerosmith, have joined this international effort that combines John Lennon music, technology, and human rights activism. The CD, "Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur," will be released by Warner Brothers Records and arrive in stores the week of June 12th. Additional singles from the album will be released leading up to the full album, along with special product offers coupled with opportunities to take action. Proceeds derived from the entire campaign will go directly to support Amnesty International’s urgent work on Darfur and other human rights crises worldwide.

Immediately following the March 12 release of the first single from the album, Amnesty International initiated a new series of events in its long-term advocacy on Darfur. More than 3,000 Amnesty International groups took part in the organization’s ninth annual National Week of Student Action March 23 – 30; Amnesty International organized rallies and protests on March 30 outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, and at Chinese consulates nationwide, in an effort to press the Chinese government to use its considerable influence with the Sudanese government to admit United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur in a joint mission with the African Union; a national call-in week to Congress took place the week of April 9- 13 at the same time as Amnesty International delegations conducted lobby meetings in Washington DC and Congressional districts across the country. Amnesty International also marked April 29th, by joining coalition partners in the third Global Day for Darfur.

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