The story of the West Memphis Three is a story of injustice and redemption. It’s the story of three teenage boys who were wrongly convicted of murder and eventually set free after serving years on death row in prison when their conviction was overturned. Their story is strongly connected to music and attracted the attention of several big-name artists including Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Henry Rollins, the Dixie Chicks, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam just to name a few.
The plight of the West Memphis Three is the subject of a new documentary called West of Memphis which was produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh and directed by Amy Bery (who was nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar for Deliver Us From Evil). Damien Echols, who is one of the West Memphis Three, also served as producer on the film. The movie opens in New York and LA on Dec. 25. It won’t hit screens in Seattle until Feb. 22, according to Seattle Times movie critic Moria Macdonald.
The film’s companion soundtrack, called West of Memphis: Voices for Justice, matches its celluloid counterpart in big-name starpower. The 15-track record (16 if you purchase the record digitally) features Natalie Maines (with Ben Harper on slide guitar), Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan and Citizen Cope. On the local connections front, former Seattleites Band of Horses contribute a live version of “Dumpster World” and Eddie Vedder contributes “Satellite.” On the celebrity front (as if Dylan and Vedder weren’t celebrity enough for the soundtrack), Johnny Depp contributes a few songs playing with a band called Tonto’s Giant Nuts.” I haven’t heard the music but I will say Depp’s contribution is the most hilarious bit of musical cross-promotion for a film I’ve ever seen considering he plays the role of Tonoto in the upcoming Lone Ranger movie.
The tracklisting for the record is below. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the record go to the West Memphis Three. You can pre-order West Memphis: Voices for Justice here and you can get more information about the soundtrack over here.
