Note of Hope - A Celebration of Woody Guthrie (+Digital Booklet)

iTunes Review

In anticipation of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday on July 14, 2012, a variety of artists have pulled together to celebrate it by using mostly previously unpublished Guthrie writings and setting them to music by RatDog bassist Rob Wasserman. With the blessing of Guthrie’s daughter Nora, artists as diverse as Van Dyke Parks, Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and Nightwatchman), Spearhead’s Michael Franti, Ani DiFranco, and the late Studs Terkel tackle Guthrie’s pointed lyrics. Terkel is a natural to speak Guthrie’s words. Morello’s perfect for “Ease My Revolutionary Mind.” Chris Whitley’s track, “On the High Lonesome,” recorded shortly before his death, features all the desperation and inventiveness of his best work. Jackson Browne’s 15-minute contribution, “You Know the Night,” is an extended moment of tenderness that balances Lou Reed’s terse, abrasive delivery on “The Debt I Owe.” Madeleine Peyroux throws her jazz styling behind the sultry “Wild Card in the Hole.” It’s a worthy tribute to and celebration of one of America’s most legendary musical and historical figures.