Where We Live: Stand for What You Stand On: A Benefit for EarthJustice

Description

A benefit CD for Earthjustice, Where We Live touts "the Universal Right to Clean Air & Clean Water." Sixteen tracks in various rootsy styles wind a thread through nature imagery ("Like a tree planted by the water, I shall not be moved," sings Pops Staples; Bob Dylan is represented by his great, forgotten 1971 single "Watching the River Flow") and a more general theme of peace and social justice (Willie Nelson’s "Living in the Promiseland," the Neville Brothers’ "Sister Rosa"). Veteran singer-activists Sweet Honey in the Rock link the two with "More Than a Paycheck," a song about the perils of pollution and simply trying to keep food on the table. Cannily promoting a theme of Christian spirituality (the Staples and Nevilles tracks, along with those by Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt, Tina Turner and Robert Cray, and John Hammond and Tom Waits) as a corollary to environmental support, the album also seeks to pull the sense of righteousness away from corporate and right-wing political interests. --Rickey Wright