Cello Song - Nick Drake (The Books and Jose Gonzalez)
Train Song - Vashti Bunyan (Feist and Ben Gibbard)
Brackett, WI (Bon Iver)
Deep Blue Sea (Grizzly Bear)
So Far Around The Bend (The National and Nico Muhly)
Tightrope (Yeasayer)
Feeling Good (My Brightest Diamond)
Dark Was The Night - Blind Willie Johnson (Kronos Quartet)
I Was Young When I Left Home - Bob Dylan (Antony and Bryce Dessner)
Big Red Machine (Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner)
Sleepless (The Decemberists)
Stolen Houses - Die (Iron & Wine)
Service Bell (Grizzly Bear and Feist)
You Are The Blood (Sufjan Stevens)
Track Listings (16) - Disc #2
Well-Alright (Spoon)
Lenin (Arcade Fire)
Mimizan (Beirut)
El Caporal (My Morning Jacket)
Inspiration Information - Shuggie Otis (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings)
With A Girl Like You - The Troggs (Dave Sitek)
Blood Pt 2 - The Castanets (Buck 65 and Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
Hey, Snow White - Destroyer (The New Pornographers)
Gentle Hour - Snapper (Yo La Tengo)
Another Saturday (Stuart Murdoch)
Happiness (Riceboy Sleeps)
Amazing Grace (Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues)
The Giant of Illinois - Handsome Family (Andrew Bird)
Lua (Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch)
When The Road Runs Out (Blonde Redhead and Devastations)
Love vs. Porn (Kevin Drew)
On the occasion of WORLD AIDS DAY today, December 1st a press announcement was made with the complete list of participating artists and cover art for the upcoming 4AD — release Dark Was The Night. Dark Was The Night will be... more » released on February 17th, 2009. Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National produced the album, and John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot
Organization was the executive producer. A total of 31 exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation. It will be available as a double cd/triple viny and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV
and AIDS. Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease and music is a great vehicle to raise money and awareness for it.
Dark Was The Night began three years ago with a casual conversation between Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and John Carlin. In discussing the project, they agreed it made sense not to do a "theme" album per se; but something that showcased the best in independent music, with an emphasis on traditional themes played and arranged in a contemporary way, and on songwriting, which is the strength of many of the artists featured here. As Aaron and Bryce started inviting their peers to contribute, their intuition about the pro-social disposition of so many of them was confirmed. As a result, 31 exclusive tracks were recorded.« less
On the occasion of WORLD AIDS DAY today, December 1st a press announcement was made with the complete list of participating artists and cover art for the upcoming 4AD
release Dark Was The Night. Dark Was The Night will be released on February 17th, 2009. Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National produced the album, and John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot
Organization was the executive producer. A total of 31 exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation. It will be available as a double cd/triple viny and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV
and AIDS. Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease and music is a great vehicle to raise money and awareness for it.
Dark Was The Night began three years ago with a casual conversation between Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and John Carlin. In discussing the project, they agreed it made sense not to do a "theme" album per se; but something that showcased the best in independent music, with an emphasis on traditional themes played and arranged in a contemporary way, and on songwriting, which is the strength of many of the artists featured here. As Aaron and Bryce started inviting their peers to contribute, their intuition about the pro-social disposition of so many of them was confirmed. As a result, 31 exclusive tracks were recorded.
A Good Snapshot of One Slice of Indie Rock in 2009
C. Mack | 02/17/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This compilation does a great job of representing a very specific corner of the indie rock world, it is not, however, an all-encompassing "Indie Rock For Dummies" that some have been billing it as. That's not to say I rate this album lower because of this, but compiling a complete picture of something as broad as the indie rock scene is nearly impossible to do in a mere 31 tracks, and it should be noted that this album does not accomplish that impossible feat.
On to what this album IS rather than what it is NOT...
The common thread I found on the first disc was that the entire disc was slow-tempo. You probably could have guessed that with songs by Bon Iver, Feist, Grizzly Bear, The Decembrists, Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens. However, even bands with a penchant for getting louder at times (The National, most notably) present very restrained songs on this disc.
The Dirty Projectors' track with David Bryne is a fantastic starting point for the album. Jose Gonzalez and The Books provide a great cover of "Cello Song", followed by a fantastic duet between Fiest and Ben Gibbard. Bon Iver, The National and Yeasayer add very strong tracks to close out the first half of disc 1. The second half of disc only has one really bad track (My Brightest Diamond's needless cover of "Feeling Good"), but the pacing feels really off. There's an 8 minute Decembrists track, followed by two songs that don't total half of that length, and then things finish off with a 10+ minute Sufjan Stevens track. All 4 tracks in the sequence are good, but the shorter middle tracks get lost, it feels like they could have been sequenced a bit better.
The first disc is remarkably consistent, but also lacks true standouts. The second disc is almost the exact opposite. There are a few true standouts, but the disc as a whole feels completely scatter shot.
Spoon and Arcade Fire bring the energy that was nowhere to be found on the first album. "Well-Alright" is a great pop track, it could easily fit on either of the last two Spoon albums. Arcade Fire's "Lenin" is a s a strong track as well. A very good contribution from Beirut finishes off the excellent start of the second disc. From there, things start to fall apart. My Morning Jacket continues their trend of becoming an extremely boring band (think "Librarian" from their last album), followed by an out of nowhere old-school R&B track by Sharon Jones. A decent contribution by TV on the Radio's David Sitek comes before another seemingly random choice - a Buck 65 rap song. From there the rest of the disc waivers between somewhat exciting (Yo La Tengo, The New Pornographers and Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch) to fairly forgettable (Stuart Murdoch, Andrew Bird and Kevin Drew). Of special note, Cat Power's cover of "Amazing Grace" is probably my least favorite track on the album. I'm a big Cat Power fan, but record an original song already! Just an awful cover by Chan...
Phew, I think that about covers it, 31 tracks, the vast majority of which I enjoy, a handful I REALLY enjoy and a select few I will probably skip more often than not. All things considered, I think this is a successful compliation. It is aimed at a specific corner of the indie rock world, but it does a really good job of covering that specific corner."
A great compilation for a great cause
Ryan Tardiff | Milford, NH | 02/17/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Red Hot's Dark Was the Night boasts one of the best line-ups of any compilation in a good long while. Indie rock luminaries ranging from David Bryne to Arcade Fire to Spoon to Feist, and it delivers.
Sufjan Steven's lovely 10 minute track 'Blood' is probably the highlight of the collection, but almost everyone delivers a quality exclusive track. Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch's reworking of the Bright Eyes track 'Lua' for instance, is a lovely treat. And Feist's two appearances being backed up by Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard in one case and backing up Grizzly Bear in another are wonderful as well.
This is an easy to take in collection with some great highs and a limited amount of lows and the money goes to a great cause. BUY IT!"
Great music, great cause, great price
Lee L. | Washington DC | 02/20/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ever since I saw the tracklisting for this compilation a few months ago, I've been really excited to see if it measured up to the hype. Needless to say, it does. Not only is this a fantastic double disc set with some of the best indie artists releasing music today for a low price, but all the proceeds go to AIDS research. It's win-win, so go out and buy it already.
This comp pulls together a wealth of previously unreleased tracks from Beirut, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, the Decemberists, Kevin Drew, Yo La Tengo, and Blonde Redhead, among others. All of these tracks would be standouts had they been pulled from full length releases. This is what makes Dark was the Night stand out as much as it does. It's not a half-hearted release. I think the most stunning song is the Iron and Wine track though. The track is barely a minute long, but I didn't know this the first time I listened to it. When I realized the song was so short, but so powerful, I felt sad that I was in my car by myself and had no one to share that moment with.
I think the covers on this comp really stand out. Andrew Bird contributed a stunning version of the Handsome Family's 'The Giant of Illinois." Feist and Ben Gibbard's version of Vashti Bunyan's 'Train Song,' and Sufjan Stevens's take of the Castanets track 'You are the Blood' are also stunning.
Unfortunately, there are a few duds and they come at the beginning of both discs. The Dirty Projectors lead off the first disc with a cameo from David Byrne, but not even the Talking Heads legend can save that band. Disc two starts with one of the weirdest Spoon songs I've ever heard. It sounds more like the singer messing around with pre-programed instruments and a laptop, not anything that should show up on a Spoon record. Following that track is a dud from Arcade Fire. I was really worried that the track was a taste of things to come from the follow-up to Neon Bible, but thankfully it turns out the the track "Lenin" is an unreleased song that predates Funeral. The only other disappointing track is Cat Power's rendition of Amazing Grace. The vocal pacing is odd and distracting, and I think it's one of her worst songs.
These duds aside, this is still an amazing collection of great songs that will be in heavy rotation for many months to come."
4.5 stars... Indie music bands' all-star compilation
Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 02/17/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'm generally not much for these types of compilations, but the long talked about and (for me) eagerly anticipated "Dark Was the Night" (2 CDs; 31 stars; 130 min.), a charity compilation overseen/produced by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dressner, is a veritable all-star collection of the best and brightest of indie music bands of this era, and it is quite the listening experience.
Even though there is no single overreaching theme to this collection (as acknowledged by Aaron Dressner in the liner notes) CD1 "This Disc" (15 tracks; 63 min.) brings a remarkable cohesiveness when listening to it. CD1 plays like a greatest hits of indie music, even though these songs are not hits and most songs are brand new. Highlights are too many to mention, but here just a few: the opener "Knotty Pine" is a delightful collaboration of Dirty Projectors and David Byrne. Feist and DCFC's Ben Gibbard excel on "Train Song". Bon Iver is his usual great on "Bracket, W9". The National's contribution "So Far Around the Bend" is my favorite track on this entire album, just superb. The Kronos Quartet's instrumental cover of 'Blind' Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night" is eerie and delightful. (Side bar: the Dressner brothers also curate the annual "MusicNow" festival in their/my hometown of Cincinnati, and this year's edition, slated for mid-March, will headline the Kronos Quartet, can't wait for that!) Iron & Wine's "Die" is a 1 min. little ditty. Sufjan Stevens closes CD1 with a great "You Are the Blood". But those are just the personal highlights for me. there are no weak tracks on this, period. I rate CD1 5 stars.
CD2 "That Disc" (16 tracks; 67 min.) is a bit more all over the map, but still provides plenty of highlights, including Spoon's "Well Alright", Beirut's "Mimizan", My Morning Jacket's "El Caporal", the instrumental Riceboys Sleeps' "Happiness", the exquisite duet between Conor Oberst and Gillian Welsh on "Lua" and the next to last track, "When the Dreams Runs Out", a dreamy collaboration between Blonde Redhead and Devastations, just superb. I rate CD2 4 stars.
In all, if you are familiar with many of these artists, this is not to be missed, and an essential purchase, period. If you are not, give this a try and chances are that you'll simply be blown away by the beauty of the music on here, and at the basement price that Amazon is selling this, this is a no-brainer, just get it already. If you are wondering where you can here many of these artists, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only station that brings the best indie-music in the country, bar none. Meanwhile, "Dark Was the Night" is highly recommended, and sure to make my "best of 2009" albums when the time comes later this year."
Complete
-. Good Neighbor | . | 05/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This compilation is a great idea overall. It is made for a good cause, and it brings a great selection of current artists of similar musical trends, in a double album for a fair price.
It is filled with rare tracks made for this occasion. It even includes music from recently established artists such as Riceboy Sleeps (Sigur Ros's singer side project), Stuart Murdoch (Belle and Sebastian).
There are some great collaborations in here too, such as: David Byrne with the Dirty Projectors, Jose Gonzalez and The Books, Feist and Ben Gibbard, and Catpower and Dirty Delta Blues, to name a few.
Most of the songs capture the essence of the idea and focus more on the feeling rather than the words.
In Short, it is a very romantic and compassionate soundtrack, mainly for a select age group, perhaps more young adult contemporary.
(It should be noted that on the second cd track list, the song "Amazing Grace" should be reversed and should come before "Happiness". "Another Saturday" comes after "Happiness", where "Amazing grace" is said to be)."