Artists who fought for exoneration of West Memphis Three contribute to documentary album
Legacy Records has released the track listing for West of Memphis: Voices For Justice, an album of music from and inspired by the new documentary about the West Memphis Three. The album contains tracks by a number of artists – including Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins, Natalie Maines, Marilyn Manson, Dave Navarro, and Patti Smith – who became involved in the fight for exoneration of the Arkansas teenagers imprisoned for the murder of three young boys.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis composed the film's original score, which appears on the album as a suite. Many of the songs covered on the album, including a Mumford & Sons track performed by Johnny Depp's band Tonto's Giant Nuts, figured prominently in the life of Damien Echols, one of the film's producers, as he sat on death row for the murders. Other tracks, like Patti Smith's recording of "Wing" and Eddie Vedder's "Satellite," developed from various benefit efforts for the case.
"Music has always played a huge role in my life. In my early years, it allowed me to escape the crushing poverty I was born into," Echols says on Legacy's Records' website. "Music took me out of myself and into a thousand other worlds. Then, when I was put on trial, it was music they used against me. My love of heavy metal was considered 'proof' that I was evil and a satanic murderer. And then, ultimately, it was music that helped to free me when friends and supporters came together to put on the Voices for Justice concert in Little Rock," said Damien Echols.
The album will be released on January 15th, 2013, with a portion of the proceeds going to directly benefit the West Memphis Three. The film, directed by Amy Berg and produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, opens on December 25th.
Track Listing:
1. Henry Rollins (feat. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis original score) - Damien Echols Death Row Letter Year 9
2. Natalie Maines - Mother
3. Lucinda Williams - Joy
4. Camp Freddy - The Jean Genie
5. Tonto's Giant Nuts feat. Johnny Depp & Bruce Witkin - Little Lion Man
6. Marilyn Manson - You're So Vain
7. Band of Horses - Dumpster World (Live)
8. Citizen Cope - DFW
9. Eddie Vedder - Satellite
10. Bill Carter - Anything Made of Paper
11. The White Buffalo - House of Pain
12. Bob Dylan - Ring Them Bells
13. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - West of Memphis Score Suite
14. Tonto's Giant Nuts feat. Johnny Depp (feat. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis original score) - Damien Echols Death Row Letter Year 16
Bonus Track:
15. Patti Smith - Wing (Recorded Live at Voices For Justice Benefit Concert - August 28, 2010)
Digital Only Bonus Track:
16. Bill Carter - Road to Nowhere
Rollingstone