The Columbia Gypsy
ANNE FEENEY
Have You Been To Jail For Justice?
Self-produced 2000
http://www.annefeeney.com/
HYBTJFJ is an album of socio-political songs. Some are "covers," some Anne Feeney has written, and others, like "Joe Hill" and "The Internationale," are classics. The most amazing piece is a parody of "Deportees" called "The C.E.O.s (The Plane Wreck at Tuzla); the wit on this one is great! Another high point is "The Rich Man's House" by the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, as much for the Afro-choir arrangement as the words. Feeney spices up the heavy thematic content of the album by using various types of arrangements: bluesy for an "Eyes On the Prize" parody which examples stories of racial "criminal injustice" ("Rebuild America-Keep Hope Alive"); Mexican (my brain lost the word for this style!)for Larry Penn's "Maquiladoras" which metaphors the US as a bad news boyfriend; reggae for "Take Them Down," an anti-war song.( I will not die for a border either.) The topics range from small to large: "Whatever Happened to the 8 Hour Day?" reminds me of the problems working class...and most of us are really working class...people face right here, right now, especially with the Aluminum Plant closing because of CALIFORNIA's power problems! And then there's the migrant cherry pickers...In all, HYBTJFJ is an intense, theme and lyric-rich album and I still have not caught all that is there. Anne also includes Al Grierson's "The Widow's Lament" and "The Flowers of Auschwitz." It's great to hear the words sung with such power and insight.
The Columbia Gypsy