[.ca] Plague Songs (Digi)

From Amazon.com:
Here we have a sweet little pick-me-up: 10 songs based on the biblical plagues that occur in the book of Exodus, arranged in order. The whole thing was commissioned by a British arts council, and for better and worse it sounds like it. Super literate singer-songwriters (Scott Walker, Rufus Wainwright, Stephin Merritt) and a few wannabes (Imogen Heap, Tiger Lilies) contribute tunes that tend towards a dynamic miserabilism. The songs that avoid such an obvious approach (those by Merritt, Cody Chesnutt, and Laurie Anderson) are a nice respite, though Walker's song is pure, super-totally-scary a capella brilliance. As mixed bags go, this one is mixed enough to not disappoint, though one wishes the artists' work extended even a bit beyond such Hal Willner/NPR-approved fare. The highlights are Rufus Wainwright's woozy, lyrical "Katona" and "Flies," a beautiful, disturbing, and atmospheric number by Robert Wyatt with Brian Eno. --Mike McGonigal

About Plague Songs & The Margate Exodus:
from 4ad.com: Plague Songs & The Margate Exodus Featuring contributions from Scott Walker, Rufus Wainright, Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt, Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields), Laurie Anderson and Imogen Heap, Plague Songs is released by 4AD on Monday October 2nd in the UK. This fascinating, unsettling and unique project comes down to one simple idea : a collection of songs based on the ten Biblical plagues that take place in the Book of Exodus. A simple idea, but a complicated story - these songs were originally commissioned by a British arts organisation called Artangel as part of The Margate Exodus, a day of live events and a film directed by Penny Woolcock. Exodus Day took place on 30 September 2006 transforming the seaside town of Margate in Kent into the setting for a contemporary re-telling of the Book Of Exodus. The day of live events higlighted dramatic moments in the film realised as a public event which included Pharoah Mann's victory election speech and the burning of Antony Gormley's Waste Man. In the evening a concert of Plague Songs inspired by those on this CD was performed in Margate's Winter Gardens by talented local singers and musicians. The 4AD release gathers together the 10 original recordings, presented in Biblical plague order. It moves from the scattershot, street-level drama of Klashnekoff's "Blood" through to the tender lament for a real-life "Death Of The Firstborn" written by Rufus Wainwright. On the way, there's the sublime hover of Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt's "Flies", the cracked, surreal sparseness of The Tiger Lillies "Hailstones", and Laurie Anderson's grave, shadowy meditation on the Death Of Livestock. Imogen Heap's "Glittering Clouds" is a soaring pop song driven along by locust samples, while Scott Walker's "Darkness" (what else ?) is simply astonishing - a driven and almost completely a capella call-and-response which will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. All ten tracks are exclusive to this release; and despite their various soundworlds and approaches they form a surprisingly coherent and convincing whole. Tracklisting : 1. "Blood" - Klashnekoff (The Plague Of Blood) 2. "Relate the Tale" - King Creosote (The Plague Of Frogs) 3. "The Meaning of Lice" - Stephin Merritt (The Plague Of Lice) 4. "Flies" - Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt (The Plague Of Flies) 5. "The Fifth Plague" - Laurie Anderson (The Death Of Livestock) 6. "Boils" - Cody ChesnuTT (The Plague Of Boils) 7. "Hailstones" - The Tiger Lillies (The Plague Of Hail) 8. "Glittering Cloud" - Imogen Heap (The Plague Of Locusts) 9. "Darkness" - Scott Walker (The Plague Of Darkness) 10. "Katonah" - Rufus Wainwright (The Death Of The Firstborn

• Blood - Klashnekoff
• Relate The Tale - King Creosote
• The Meaning Of Lice - Stephin Merritt
• Flies - Brian Eno With Robert Wyatt
• The Fifth Plague - Laurie Anderson
• Boils - Cody Chesnutt 2:41
• Hailstones - The Tiger Lillies
• Glittering Cloud (Locusts) - Imogen Heap
• Darkness - Scott Walker
• Katonah - Rufus Wainwright