The first 7 Worlds Collide album, a collection of amazing musical talents from across the globe in aid of Médecins Sans Frontières, was a unique live performance experience, fusing the varied talents of a stellar cast across a range of cover versions to create a series of shows that culminated in the live album of the same name.
Seven years after that project, instigator Neil Finn has upped the ante with the new 7 Worlds Collide project, The Sun Came Out, a double album of original songs created and recorded by many of the original cast alongside notable new additions in an intense three weeks in his native New Zealand. This time the beneficiaries of this album will be Oxfam, as well as music lovers worldwide.
Familiar faces from the original album abound, Johnny Marr, Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway of Radiohead but this album, first and foremost presents the listener with new songs rather than interpretations of old favourites. The Sun Came Out also features a whole host of new guest talents such as KT Tunstall and Wilco and heart stopping firsts, including Phil Selway's songwriting and vocal debut as well as dream collaborations such as those between Johnny Marr and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy; and KT Tunstall and Neil Finn .
At the heart of the record is Neil Finn. His enthusiasm and drive persuaded the likes of celebrated producer Jim Scott, Lisa Germano, Johnny Marr and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, John Stirratt and Glenn Kotche (amongst others) to spend their Christmas holiday in New Zealand and even interrupted KT Tunstall’s honeymoon in the process.
With families welcome, the studio became a constant whirl of creativity and energy throughout the three weeks allocated to create the record. Johnny Marr returned from a run on the beach with the basis of ‘Too Blue’, where Jeff Tweedy was waiting to add his talents; KT Tunstall stopped Neil retiring to his bed to complete ‘Hazel Black’; a wandering Johnny Marr added a chorus melody to Liam Finn’s ‘Red Wine Bottle’; Ed O’Brien fashioned ‘Bodhisattva Blues’ from a Tibetan chant. In this atmosphere, anything was possible and Neil’s wife Sharon found herself laying down her debut vocal on ‘Little By Little’ whilst Phil Selway also took his vocal bow and unveiled a hitherto unknown songwriting talent with his solo turn ‘The Ties That Bind Us’ in one take.
From Neil’s original doubts over the idea, “I thought, what is this? Is it just an ego thing,” came a double album of astounding collaborations for the listener and amazing memories for all those concerned in the recording. At the center of it all stands Neil Finn, too humble to take the glory himself, it is left to KT Tunstall to give the credit due to the man who made this happen: “It’s Neil. It all comes from him. There’s something about him that made everyone open up creatively.”
Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International said: "7 Worlds Collide is a great project. I hope The Sun Came Out is a huge success. Not just because it's a unique musical experience but because each CD sold will make a difference -- raising money to fund Oxfam's work to fight poverty."
The complete tracklisting and credits for the 2-CD set is below:
Disc 1
1. Too Blue – (Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy) – Johnny Marr and Neil Finn vocals Elroy Finn & Glenn Kotche (drums), Phil Selway (percussion), John Stirratt (stand-up bass), Johnny Marr & Ed O’Brien (guitars), Pat Sansone (piano), Nile Marr & Neil Finn (acoustic guitars), and Lisa Germano (violins)
Familiar faces from the original album abound, Johnny Marr, Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway of Radiohead but this album, first and foremost presents the listener with new songs rather than interpretations of old favourites. The Sun Came Out also features a whole host of new guest talents such as KT Tunstall and Wilco and heart stopping firsts, including Phil Selway's songwriting and vocal debut as well as dream collaborations such as those between Johnny Marr and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy; and KT Tunstall and Neil Finn .
At the heart of the record is Neil Finn. His enthusiasm and drive persuaded the likes of celebrated producer Jim Scott, Lisa Germano, Johnny Marr and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, John Stirratt and Glenn Kotche (amongst others) to spend their Christmas holiday in New Zealand and even interrupted KT Tunstall’s honeymoon in the process.
With families welcome, the studio became a constant whirl of creativity and energy throughout the three weeks allocated to create the record. Johnny Marr returned from a run on the beach with the basis of ‘Too Blue’, where Jeff Tweedy was waiting to add his talents; KT Tunstall stopped Neil retiring to his bed to complete ‘Hazel Black’; a wandering Johnny Marr added a chorus melody to Liam Finn’s ‘Red Wine Bottle’; Ed O’Brien fashioned ‘Bodhisattva Blues’ from a Tibetan chant. In this atmosphere, anything was possible and Neil’s wife Sharon found herself laying down her debut vocal on ‘Little By Little’ whilst Phil Selway also took his vocal bow and unveiled a hitherto unknown songwriting talent with his solo turn ‘The Ties That Bind Us’ in one take.
From Neil’s original doubts over the idea, “I thought, what is this? Is it just an ego thing,” came a double album of astounding collaborations for the listener and amazing memories for all those concerned in the recording. At the center of it all stands Neil Finn, too humble to take the glory himself, it is left to KT Tunstall to give the credit due to the man who made this happen: “It’s Neil. It all comes from him. There’s something about him that made everyone open up creatively.”
Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International said: "7 Worlds Collide is a great project. I hope The Sun Came Out is a huge success. Not just because it's a unique musical experience but because each CD sold will make a difference -- raising money to fund Oxfam's work to fight poverty."
The complete tracklisting and credits for the 2-CD set is below:
Disc 1
1. Too Blue – (Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy) – Johnny Marr and Neil Finn vocals Elroy Finn & Glenn Kotche (drums), Phil Selway (percussion), John Stirratt (stand-up bass), Johnny Marr & Ed O’Brien (guitars), Pat Sansone (piano), Nile Marr & Neil Finn (acoustic guitars), and Lisa Germano (violins)
2. You Never Know – (Jeff Tweedy) – Jeff vocals Jeff Tweedy (acoustic & electric guitars), Glenn Kotche (drums), Pat Sansone (acoustic 12 string guitar & piano), John Stirratt (bass), Neil Finn (Wurlitzer piano, fuzz guitar), Liam Finn (additional fuzz guitar), Nels Cline (electric/slide guitar), and Mikael Jorgensen (organ/synth)
3. Little By Little – (Sharon Finn/Neil Finn) – Neil and Sharon vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums & percussion), Liam Finn (additional drums), Sharon Finn (bass), and Neil Finn (guitars, Chamberlin, Jupiter 8, marimba)
Glenn Kotche (drums & percussion), Liam Finn (additional drums), Sharon Finn (bass), and Neil Finn (guitars, Chamberlin, Jupiter 8, marimba)
4. Learn To Crawl – (Ed O’Brien/Johnny Marr/Liam Finn/Neil Finn) – Neil and Liam vocals Glenn Kotche (drums), Ed O’Brien, Johnny Marr, Pat Sansone (acoustic guitar arpeggio), Neil Finn (bass), Pat Sansone (background harmonies), Jeff Tweedy (disembodied voice), and Lisa Germano (violin)
5. Black Silk Ribbon – (KT Tunstall/Bic Runga) – KT and Bic vocals Luke Bullen (drums, thigh slap), KT Tunstall & Bic Runga (acoustic guitars), Sebastian Steinberg (stand up & bowed bass), and Lisa Germano (violin)
6. Girl, Make Your Own Mind Up – (Don McGlashan) - Don vocals Don McGlashan (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), Ed O’Brien (electric guitar atmosphere), John Stirratt (bass), Ivy Rossiter (backing vocal), and Jeff Tweedy (electric guitar solo)
7. Run In The Dust – (Johnny Marr) - Johnny vocals Phil Selway (drums), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Johnny Marr (guitar), Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), Pat Sansone (Hammond organ), Jeff Tweedy (harmonica), Neil Finn, Lisa Germano, and Pat Sansone (harmonies)
8. Red Wine Bottle – (Liam Finn/Chris Garland/Johnny Marr) - Liam vocals Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), Liam Finn (acoustic guitars, guitar loops and solo, Hammond mash), Neil Finn (Hammond flourish), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), Eliza Jane Barnes & Cecilia Herbert (harmonies)
9. The Ties That Bind Us – (Phil Selway) - Phil vocals Phil Selway (acoustic guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Pat Sansone (acoustic guitar, celeste), Sebastian Steinberg (standup & bowed bass), Lisa Germano (violin & whisper), Don McGlashan (euphium, flugelhorn), and Jeff Tweedy (additional arrangement)
10. Reptile – (Lisa Germano) - Lisa vocals Lisa Germano (electric guitar, Theremin), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Spencer Tweedy (drums), Glenn Kotche (toys and robots drumming), Pat Sansone (12 string guitar), Neil Finn (xylophone), Sonny Marr, Nile Marr, Sam Tweedy, Jeff Tweedy, Louise Callaghan, Emma Scott, Pearl McGlashan, mae Moreno, Sharon Finn, Julia Connolly, Sebastian Steinberg, and Milla (humans & dogs singing background vocals)
11. Bodhisattva Blues – (Ed O’Brien/Liam Finn) – Ed and Neil Finn vocals Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), Elroy Finn (drums), Liam Finn (guitar), Neil Finn (Wurlizer piano, bass), Jeff Tweedy (guitar solo, vocal response & scream), and Johnny Marr (guitar solo)
12. What Could Have Been – (Jeff Tweedy) - Jeff vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Jeff Tweedy (acoustic guitar), John Stirratt (bass), Neil Finn (vibes, electric guitar, harmony), and Pat Sansone (piano, Wurlitzer organ)
Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Jeff Tweedy (acoustic guitar), John Stirratt (bass), Neil Finn (vibes, electric guitar, harmony), and Pat Sansone (piano, Wurlitzer organ)
Disc 2
1. All Comedians Suffer – (Neil Finn) - Neil vocals Glenn Kotche (drums), Neil Finn (electric guitar), Pat Sansone (acoustic guitar), Liam Finn (bass, electric guitar, harmonies), and Jeff Tweedy (chorus fuzz, electric guitar solo)
2. Duxton Blues – (Glenn Richards) - Glenn vocals Glenn Richards (guitar), Liam Finn (drums, guitar & vocal loops), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Bic Runga & Neil Finn (background vocals)
3. Hazel Black – (KT Tunstall/Neil Finn) – KT and Neil vocals KT Tunstall (acoustic guitar, handclaps, background vocals), Luke Bullen (drums, handclaps), John Stirratt (bass), Johnny Marr & Pat Sansone (electric guitars), Neil Finn (piano, harmony), Glenn Kotche (handclaps), Sonny Marr & Bic Runga (back-ground vocals)
4. Riding The Wave – (Tim Finn) – Tim vocals Tim Finn (piano), Elroy Finn (drums), Neil Finn (acoustic guitar, slide guitar, harmony), Liam Finn (harmonies), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), and Pat Sansone (Hammond organ)
5. The Witching Hour – (Phil Selway) - Phil vocals Phil Selway (acoustic guitar), Bic Runga & KT Tunstall (background vocals), Lisa Germano (violin), and Jeff Tweedy (Optigan organ, piano)
6. Over And Done – (John Stirratt) - John vocals John Stirratt (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), Pat Sansone (bass, piano), Don McGlashan (Euphonium, Flugelhorn), and Neil Finn & Pat Sansone (harmonies)
7. A Change Of Heart – (Bic Runga/Dan Wilson) – Bic vocals Bic Runga (acoustic guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), Neil Finn (piano), Pat Sansone (Hammond organ), and Don McGlashan (humming)
8. Don’t Forget Me – (Pat Sansone) – Pat vocals Pat Sansone (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), and Johnny Marr (electric guitar)
9. Long Time Gone – (Don McGlashan) - Don vocals Don McGlashan (guitar), Phil Selway (drums), Pat Sansone (bass), Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), and Johnny Marr (12 string & 6 string acoustic guitars, backing vocals)
10. The Cobbler – (Elroy Finn) - Elroy vocals Elroy Finn (guitar), Lisa Germano (violin), and Sebastian Steinberg (bowed bass)
11. 3 Worlds Collide – (Glenn Kotche/Phil Selway/Neil Baldock) Glenn Kotche & Phil Selway (drums, percussion)
12. The Water – (Sebastian Steinberg) - Sebastian vocals Sebastian Steinberg (guitars, bass), Neil Finn (piano), Glenn Kotche (drums), and Johnny Marr (ghost guitar)
Produced by Jim Scott and Neil Finn, additional production Neil Baldock
About Oxfam America
Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 100 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice. We are an affiliate of Oxfam International.
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/
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