West of Memphis: Voices for Justice (Review)

The following is another album review I wrote for the online music service KKbox. While I might have written it slightly differently if I'd been writing for my blog, it's a fairly accurate representation of my thoughts on the album, which is a very interesting listen, if not as immediately accessible as most mainstream pop.

For some, music is just entertainment. For others, it can be a weapon in the struggle to uphold human rights. West of Memphis: Voices for Justice is the soundtrack for West of Memphis, a documentary about the case of the West Memphis Three, three young men who were sent to prison in 1994 for the murder of three boys on the basis of questionable evidence, in what many people considered a serious miscarriage of justice. Many of the artists who appear on the soundtrack have been involved for years in the fight to clear the names of the three, and their efforts helped the three win their freedom in 2011, though they are still seeking full exoneration, and a portion of the proceeds from the album will go to their continuing legal struggle.

The soundtrack opens with Henry Rollins reading a letter from Damien Echols, who was one of the West Memphis Three and also the co-producer of the documentary, along with Peter Jackson. The letter, sent by Echols from death row, describes the conditions he was living under over music from the movie’s original score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, effectively setting the mood and reminding the listener that this is not just a collection of songs. The songs themselves include covers of songs that were of particular significance to Echols during his time on death row, and others that were written in support of the three.

The artists appearing on the soundtrack include a wide range of superstars, often with intriguing choices of songs. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks does a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Mother” that builds from a low key country-tinged tune to a heavier rock sound, Lucinda Williams performs a gritty, guitar-heavy version of her own “Joy”, and Camp Freddy – a group led by Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers – delivers a powerful bluesy cover of “The Jean Genie”, originally by David Bowie, one of Echols’s favorite artists. Longtime West Memphis supporter Johnny Depp, performing with his ad hoc group Tonto’s Giant Nuts, does a dark cover of the Mumford & Sons song “Little Lion Man” and also plays guitar on shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s heavy metal reinterpretation of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam accompanies himself on ukulele on “Satellite”, a love song he wrote for Echols and his wife. Even Bob Dylan makes an appearance with “Ring Them Bells”, a song originally released on his album Oh Mercy. But just as moving as the big name performances are the songs by artists who may be less familiar to some listeners, such as Band of Horses’s live rendition of their Crosby, Stills and Nash-style “Dumpster World” or “Anything Made of Paper”, written by Texan singer-songwriter Bill Carter and his wife Ruth after Echols told Carter to bring him “anything made of paper”, as that was all he was allowed to have in prison [click on the song title to see the excellent video for the song].

The main soundtrack closes with Johnny Depp reading another disturbing letter sent by Echols from death row over Cave and Ellis’s haunting score. This is followed by two bonus tracks including Patti Smith’s live rendition of her song “Wing” from a benefit concert for the West Memphis Three and Bill Carter’s rendition of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere”, another favorite of Echols while in prison. With an array of powerful renditions of classic songs by top-notch performers, West of Memphis: Voices for Justice combines good music with a good cause.