Janet Reno's second career. We listened to a podcast about this album at the start of the summer, but forgot about it until its release last month. Song of America, a 3 disc anthology of classic American songs, is the unlikely collaboration between former Attorney General Janet Reno and her niece's husband, Ed Pettersen, a record producer and musician.
If you're expecting cheesy, jingoistic renditions of Yankee Doodle and This Land is Your Land think again. These 50 songs have been reimagined by a wide range of artists - Martha Wainwright, Devendra Banhart, John Mellencamp, Andrew Bird, Take 6, and the Black Crows to name a few. Reno was motivated to work on this album by her desire to share the music and history of our country with her great nieces and nephews and to "enage and educate" young listneners everywhere.
Many of the songs will be familiar to you - Home on the Range, for example. But others are hidden or forgotten gems that serve as an oral history of America: Apache Tears, Rosie the Riveter, How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm.
The album sells for $20 at Amazon (where you can listen to many samples) or look for it at your local record store. If you're interested in the NPR podcast interview with Reno, it's here.
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