Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Body of War

From Billboard:

Tracks from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, Bright Eyes, Serj Tankian and Tom Morello will be found on the two-disc collection Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran.

The set is due March 18 via Sire, with a vinyl edition arriving April 15. The documentary of the same name premiered last September at the Toronto International Film Festival and will roll out to additional markets in the coming months.

As previously reported, Body of War chronicles the travails of Tomas Young, who was paralyzed by a bullet during his first week of military service in Iraq. Vedder was inspired to write new material for the film, which was co-directed by talk show legend Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, after meeting Young in recent months.

The first single from the album, which was curated by the injured Young, will be a version of Vedder's "No More" performed with guest Ben Harper during Pearl Jam's set at the 2007 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.

And while the full track list is still coming together, expect to find Bright Eyes' "When the President Talks To God" and Morello's "Battle Hymns" (under his Nightwatchman alter ego) on the album, plus songs from Harper, No Use For a Name, RX Bandits and Michael Franti, among others.

"The songs collected here are the sounds that have helped to inspire me and keep me going as I struggle to find the strength to deal with my new physical limitations while trying to find the energy to fight when many parts of my body and brain are telling me to stop," Young says. "Each song you hear you're hearing because I found a meaning in it that helped focus a number of emotions and turn them into something that I hope will ultimately be positive."

A portion of the proceeds from Songs That Inspired... will be donated to Iraq Veterans Against the War.
MP3: Eddie Vedder - "No More" [Live]

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