First Spin: Dark Was The Night

February 12th, 2009

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Over the past two weeks, Dark Was The Night‘s MySpace page has been slowly previewing each of the album’s tracks each day. But now we have the whole album for you to enjoy in its entirety a week before it’s released on February 17.

It’s been three years in the making and all in support of the Red Hot Organization, which you may recognize from their previous releases with the effort of fighting AIDS through pop culture.

It’s produced by twin brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National along with charity founder John Carlin and it rounds up some of North America’s most talented songwriters and musicians on thirty-one original tracks, including music from Grizzly Bear, The Books, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Yeasayer, Beirut, The National and more.

The compilation’s made up of two discs that each has a different theme: the first is dark, classical and folky whereas the second is more progressive and rockin’. All profits from CD/vinyl and download sales go to the Red Hot Organization. Standouts on the album are a reworked version of Grizzly Bear’s Service Bell featuring Feist on vocals and new songs from Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens.

Listen: Dark Was The Night

Tracklisting:
THIS Disc
1. “Knotty Pine” – Dirty Projectors & David Byrne
2. “Cello Song” (Nick Drake) – The Books & Jose Gonzalez
3. “Train Song” (Vashti Bunyan) – Feist & Ben Gibbard
4. “Brackett, WI” – Bon Iver
5. “Deep Blue Sea” – Grizzly Bear
6. “So Far Around The Bend” – The National & Nico Muhly
7. “Tightrope” – Yeasayer
8. “Feeling Good” – My Brightest Diamond
9. “Dark Was The Night” (Blind Willie Johnson) – Kronos Quartet
10. “I Was Young When I Left Home” (Bob Dylan) – Antony & Bryce Dessner
11. “Big Red Machine” – Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner
12. “Sleepless” – The Decemberists
13. “Stolen Houses (Die)” – Iron & Wine
14. “Service Bell” – Grizzly Bear & Feist
15. “You Are The Blood” (Castanets) – Sufjan Stevens

THAT Disc
1. “Well-Alright” – Spoon
2. “Lenin” – Arcade Fire
3. “Mimizan” – Beirut
4. “El Caporal” – My Morning Jacket
5. “Inspiration Information” (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6. “With A Girl Like You” (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek
7. “Blood Pt. 2″ (Castanets) – Buck 65 Remix (f. Sufjan Stevens & Serengeti)
8. “Hey, Snow White” (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers
9. “Gentle Hour” (Snapper) – Yo La Tengo
10. “Amazing Grace” – Cat Power with Dirty Delta Blues
11. “Happiness” – Riceboy Sleeps
12. “Another Saturday” – Stuart Murdoch
13. “The Giant Of Illinois” (Handsome Family) – Andrew Bird
14. “Lua” – Conor Oberst with Gillian Welch
15. “When The Road Runs Out” – Blonde Redhead & Devastations
16. “Love Vs. Porn” – Kevin Drew