Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the American landscape has been saturated with post-attack, pro-American songs, ranging from Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” to an “all star tribute” version of “What’s Going On.”
As expected, a wave of tribute albums was bound to follow, although good intentions cannot make up for the hit-or-miss quality of most compilations. This trend continues on “Bands for America,” a tribute CD to benefit the United Way.
The “Bands for America” website has hopes for the album “to instantly become a recognized force driven by music fans that are coming together to shrug off the dark forces that try to keep our heads in the sand. It’s time to move forward and seize the day.”
Unfortunately, most of the album doesn’t provide that desired inspiration. In fact, most of the album fails to connect with the tragedy, let alone stimulating a generation to action.
The first song that actually succeeds at relating to the attacks is surprisingly one of the catchiest. Cary Pierce, joined by a few “friends,” sings the slow, deliberate “I Believe in America,” a song he co-wrote with fellow musician Graham Colton. The lyrics hint at a deeper talent, reminiscent of a Bob Dylan anthem.
The 19-year-old Colton couldn’t get away without tossing a song onto the album too, and it’s lucky he did. His song, “Save Me” (not to be confused with the Oscar-nominated Aimee Mann song) actually provides a step up from Pierce’s song. Inspired by such singer/songwriters as Duncan Sheik, Colton’s lyrics beautifully match his tenor voice.
Following the trend of no-Sept. 11-relationship, Domestic Problems provides a catchy sing-along song about lead singer Andy Holtgreive’s father titled “James Frances.” With the version coming off Domestic Problems’ live album, the acoustic melody fits perfectly with the story aspect of the song (rarely seen among the Britney Spears-inspired musical landscape).
The only other highlight comes late on the album from Lucky Town, who added “Dirty Shoes” to the compilation. Again, the song, off the band’s most recent album “Any Way I’m Fine,” has little to do with the attacks. Lead singer Courtney Criswell’s soft, subtle voice provides the perfect addition to the band’s simple sound, pulling listeners to the often-avoided region of Letters to Cleo and Juliana Hatfield.
While there are few true misses on the album (“Wiseman” by Slightly Stoopid being the stand out), the remainder of the bands only provide filler songs, including the song “Hold on True” by Ohio State favorites O.A.R. Each band flirts with greatness, but all appear to save it for their own albums.
The album concludes with one of the few songs actually related to the album’s ultimate goal. For those living under a rock, the song, “On 9.11.01” written by Garrett Dutton (half of G. Love and Special Sauce) is a quiet ballad written in remembrance of the Sept. 11 attacks, but despite the sentiment behind the words, the song doesn’t quite grasp the same raw power of Bob Dylan’s social commentaries. Instead, it feels forced and out of place among the less political melodies.
In spite of the overwhelming meritocracy of the album, the few high-quality songs do make the album worth checking out, especially with proceeds headed to charity. This may be one of the only times having such a limited collection of worthwhile songs may still be worth the money spent.
