Now I’m not much of a twitterer or tweeter or whatever you want to call it, but every now and then a nugget of awesome info seeps through the tweetscape and lands right in your lap. I’ve been following Marissa Nadler for quite some time and was elated to learn, via twitter of course, that she “has a version of ‘All My Trials’ on the Wears the Trousers tribute to Odetta”. I wasn’t familiar that there was an Odetta cover compilation even in the works, but a simple google search for “Wears the Trousers” displayed all the juicy details.

Evidently I didn’t get the memo that the new trend for online publications is to release cover compilations of recently deceased musicians, but one can be proud of the fact that all the proceeds from Beautiful Star are going towards reputable UK women’s charities — and what better way to honor one of the legends that closed the gender gap in music than contributions to feminist organizations! Now for those who don’t know anything about folk singer/musician/activist, be aware that a cursory look at her wikipedia page grossly underestimates here impact on music the past half century. It’s easy to swallow quick blurbs like Bob Dylan’s line “The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta” or Maya Angelou’s praise “If only one could be sure that every fifty years a voice and a soul like Odetta’s would come along, the centuries would pass so quickly and painlessly we would hardly recognize time”, but a more detailed investigation (one that will not be explored here at this time) will show more thoroughly and convincingly the influence this Southern singer yielded over not only individuals but the musical landscape itself.

Now I haven’t listened to the compilation yet — it’s set to be released November 30 — but one can imagine based on the tracklist how pleasant sounding it will be. Dotted with a handful of better known acts (Anais Mitchell, Marissa Nadler), the compilation is mostly composed of women singers who are either emerging or have never broken through. Contrary to what you might expect, all are very powerful singers (here’s to you Josephine Oniyama), demonstrating how hard it is for even talented artists to reach widespread acclaim. In fact, the compilation might just be a jumping off point to discovering a whole wave of talented female singers from across the globe, making the album exciting enough to buy.

Obviously the highlight for me will be to hear both Nadler’s and Mitchell’s take on the classic song “All My Trials” which has been amply covered by musicians over the years. Both singers have very unique voices that I’m sure will be utilized in order to add a different flavor to this 50s protest song. Odetta wasn’t the first to sing this song, but arguably one of the best, supplying Nadler and Mitchell with gigantic shoes to fill.

Here’s the full tracklist supplied by the album’s website as well as a couple of my favorite Odetta videos and a label approved mp3:

Tracklist
01 Linda Draper // “Sail Away Ladies”
02 Ane Brun // “If I Had A Ribbon Bow”
03 Gemma Ray // “900 Miles”
04 Anaïs Mitchell // “All My Trials”
05 Haunted Stereo // “Santy Anno”
06 Madam // “Waterboy”
07 Sandy Dillon // “Can’t Afford To Lose My Man”
08 Ora Cogan // “Motherless Child”
09 Josephine Oniyama // “The Gallows Pole”
10 Pepi Ginsberg // “Beautiful Star”
11 Society Of Imaginary Friends // “Another Man Done Gone”
12 Marissa Nadler // “All My Trials”
13 Kelli Ali // “All The Pretty Little Horses”
14 Katey Brooks // “What A Friend We Have”
15 Liz Durrett // “Chilly Winds”
16 Arborea // “This Little Light Of Mine”

Ora Cogan // Motherless Child (Odetta Cover)