As we told you back in October, Cook and David Byrne have once again teamed up for a rather unique project. Following in the footsteps of The Brighton Port Authority’s I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, the legendary duo hit the studio with a number of other high-profile musicians for a concept album based on the life of former first lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos — you know, the chick with all the shoes.

“Each track is sung by a different singer and there’s some very interesting guests on there,” Cook explained of the album in an interview with NME. He wasn’t kidding.

Featured on two disc, 22-track Here Lies Love are a number of music’s favorite female voices, including Tori Amos, St. Vincent, Santigold, Róisín Murphy, Sharon Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Sia, Martha Wainwright, Nicole Atkins, Florence & the Machine’s Florence Welch, Natalie Merchant, My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, Alice Russell, The B-52′s Kate Pierson, Allison Moorer, and Nellie McKay. In fact, only two tracks include male vocals — Steve Earle sings on “A Perfect Hand”, while Byrne handles “American Troglodyte”.

And if all that wasn’t enough, the whole thing concludes on track 22, ” Why Don’t You Love Me?”, with what should be a rather unique duet featuring Amos and Lauper.

But wait… there’s more! The album, which will be released on February 23rd via Nonesuch Records, comes packaged with 100-page book detailing the project and a DVD.

Here Lies Love Tracklist:
Disc One:
01. Here Lies Love (feat. Florence Welch)
02. Every Drop of Rain (feat. Candie Payne & St. Vincent)
03. You’ll Be Taken Care Of (feat. Tori Amos)
04. The Rose of Tacloban (feat. Martha Wainwright)
05. How Are You? (feat. Nellie McKay)
06. A Perfect Hand (feat. Steve Earle)
07. Eleven Days (feat. Cyndi Lauper)
08. When She Passed By (feat. Allison Moorer)
09. Walk Like a Woman (feat. Charmaine Clamor)
10. Don’t You Agree? (feat. Róisín Murphy)
11. Pretty Face (feat. Camille)
12. Ladies in Blue (feat. Theresa Andersson)

Disc Two:
01. Dancing Together (feat. Sharon Jones)
02. Men Will Do Anything (feat. Alice Russel
03. The Whole Man (feat. Kate Pierson)
04. Never So Big (feat. Sia)
05. Please Don’t (feat. Santigold)
06. American Troglodyte
07. Solano Avenue (feat. Nicole Atkins)
08. Order 1081 (feat. Natalie Merchant)
09. Seven Years (feat. Shara Worden)
10. Why Don’t You Love Me? (feat. Cyndi Lauper & Tori Amos)

The final day of Outside Lands was fantastic. The sun decided to come out and play for a bit and we were delighted to bask in some warm weather for a change. The crowd was smaller compared to the previous two days, but not by too much. Although the crowd started pouring in around 3:30 p.m., everyone that came out early enjoyed themselves and took it easy on a fine Sunday morning. And the music was (in my opinion) the best yet.

Jackie Greene kicked things off at 1:00 p.m. on the main stage with his bluesy and soulful rock music. Greene had a lovely southern drawl as he sang, which helped his music take on a much sexier appeal. The band’s sound was reminiscent of 1960′s and 70′s rock and roll, drawing from artists The Rolling Stones and The Doors. It was really the perfect music to start off the morning and get your mind off of yesterday’s hang over. Greene remarked on his performance later, saying “I definitely recognize the historical value of playing at Golden Gate Park, but for me, it’s really special to play in your home town. I can just roll out of bed and get here in like 5 minutes. It’s great. San Francisco really did a great job with this thing.”

Next up was Nicole Atkins and the Sea (photo below) who put on quite a rockin’ show. There was a lot more intensity and energy in the group than when I saw the band last year in Atlanta, GA, with Atkins seeming extremely confident. Kicking things off with “Party’s Over,” the band continued to play a majority of their faster paced songs, while not forgetting their slower hits like “War Torn” and “The Way It Is.” The set even included an old Atkins song “Carouselle” from her Bleeding Diamonds E.P. and a cover of Patti Smith’s song, “Pissing In A River…” At the press conference later that afternoon, Atkins spoke out about her earlier performance claiming that, “since we are always the first set at festivals, we aren’t given much time and sort of just play a greatest hits set. It also really depends on what we were listening to before the show. Like if it was Mastodon then it’d be more metal. Well, at least in my mind anyways.”

At about 2:00 p.m., Stars got things going on the Twin Peaks stage. (Stay tuned for an interview with lead singer Torquil Campbell that will be posted up on the site in the next few days.) Campbell and Amy Millan took turns singing lead and Campbell was moving all over the stage, playing different instruments here and there. He even fell over once. The stage set up was really beautiful; with white rose bouquets tied to all the instruments. Stars drew in a huge crowd and captured the attention of all the incoming people from the neighboring front gate entrance. Truly a stunning performance.

The party really started when Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings took the main stage. Keeping 1960′s soul music alive and part of today’s music scene, the band drew in a huge crowd that was ready to get down and boogie. The Dap Kings started things off with a few songs of their own, later introducing the fabulous soul sister we had all come to see. Jones got up there and started shakin’ it like it was nobody’s business. She did her very own versions of the “Mash Potata” and the “Boogaloo” and you could tell she was having one hell of a time up there. While singing tunes like “100 Days and 100 Nights,” “Tell Me” and “The Collection Song”, Jones managed to create her own funky dance party. Later on, she grabbed one of the backstage crew guys and sang “Be Easy” to him, while advising the guy how to get a real woman of his own. The crowd went nuts, so she brought up another girl from backstage and even got security to O.K. someone from the crowd to get on the stage and dance with her. This was surely one of the most entertaining and fun shows at the festival this weekend and everyone was sad to see her leave the stage.

A half hour later, Rodrigo y Gabriela (photo below) set up on the main stage. Definitely one of the simplest stage set ups ever, the duo got up there with their guitars and a couple of chairs. Rodrigo y Gabriela were phenomenal and it was mind blowing to watch their fingers at work. They initially played songs like “Tamacun” and “Diablo Rojo” together, but then split up. The duo battled one another for a while to see who would get to solo first and Gabriela won. She got up there and really showed us what she could do with a guitar. There aren’t even words to describe what she was doing, but the crowd was clapping to the beat and keeping rhythm for her as we all jumped up and down. Then Rodrigo came out to switch places with her. Soon after, he fooled around with his guitar for a bit, but then he waltzed up to the stage, got serious for a moment, and started to play the beginning riffs of a Jack Johnson song which made everyone laugh hysterically. Then he whipped out a wah pedal and started sampling songs by artists like Jimi Hendrix and The White Stripes until he finally found the song that everyone was hoping for, “Stairway to Heaven”. Gabriela got back up up and finished the song with him. The duo got everyone’s spirits high and we clapped so hard to keep the beat that our hands were raw. As they exited, we were left motionless and were sad that we had to stop dancing.

Thankfully, the dance party started up again within minutes, on the neighboring Avenues stage with Los Amigos Invisibles (photo below). And so began the electrifying Latin disco dance party extravaganza! The band delighted us with bouncy tunes which no one could resist, not even themselves. Singing in Spanish, the band touched on a mix between 70′s disco and 90′s Euro-pop. Filled with electrifying guitar solos, funky bass and one wild keyboardist, it was hard to tell if the band or the crowd was having more fun. Tunes like “Que Rico” and “Ponerte en Cuatro” just blew us away, making us want more and more. Unfortunately, the band wasn’t allowed to do an encore and the stage cleared in preparation for the evening’s main event.

Many people were already crowded around the stage in anticipation of Jack Johnson. For those of us coming from the dance party, part of ourselves were still moving and it was hard to mellow out and settle down for the calm music that Jack Johnson brings to the table. Nevertheless, everyone ran in close for Outside Lands’ final event and Johnson brought the festival to a pleasant and peaceful end.

Feature image courtesy of Crowdfire.net.

The band’s debut album Neptune City was released in late 2007 and soon reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart. Atkins explains on her website that “this record is the history of my town; it’s the history of my family and friends in this town.” And it’s exactly that. Neptune City is filled with passion and a love of all things past. The album has a sense of something lost; of what could have been, what should have been and what might be. Neptune City passionately recognizes the emotional wreckage that’s piled up along our shores because of the charming and hopelessly adorable Nicole Atkins.

Nicole’s sound has been compared to Roy Orbison if he was a chick and is reminiscent of 60′s soul, folk rock, country and doo-wop. The entire album is captivating, but I would recommend my favorites “The Way It Is,” which is strangely Bond-like and “War Torn.” Another great one is “Neptune City,” which is a tragically perfect depiction of growing up and moving away from home.

I had the pleasure of catching Nicole Atkins and the Sea earlier this year in Atlanta and have full confidence that they will be just as impressive, if not more so, at this year’s Outside Lands Festival. The band is charming and full of a great intensity that they pound into snazzy solos and just full on fun. They’ll be playing Sunday August 24 at Golden Gate Park. Be sure to get there early and prepare yourself for an outstanding musical experience.

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