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Instant Karma campaign targets Darfur
By Jim Welte - MP3.com
June 14, 2007 at 01:53:00 PM | more stories by this author

New album in stores this week features covers of John Lennon songs from a star-studded cast; proceeds go to Amnesty International's efforts in Sudan.

Celebrities all over the world have spoken out against the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, but Yoko Ono has backed up that talk with the acclaimed catalog of her late husband.

<em>Instant Karma</em> Instant Karma

Ono has donated all music publishing royalties for Instant Karma, a new double album of John Lennon covers by the likes of U2, Green Day, R.E.M., Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Jackson Browne, Avril Lavigne, Black Eyed Peas, Ben Harper, Snow Patrol, the Flaming Lips, and many more.

The album hit stores this week, with 97 percent of all proceeds going to Amnesty International's campaign to focus attention and mobilize activism around the catastrophe in Darfur and other human rights crises.

The album features covers of 38 Lennon songs by a diverse cast that also includes Los Lonely Boys, Corinne Bailey Rae, Big & Rich, Jakob Dylan, Jack Johnson, Matisyahu, the Postal Service, Jack's Mannequin featuring Mick Fleetwood, Regina Spektor, Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, Youssou N'Dour, and Jaguares.

The album was preceded by its first single, Green Day's cover of Lennon's acclaimed "Working Class Hero."

Green Day Green Day

Accompanying the two-CD set, 11 tracks are available today as exclusive digital downloads on iTunes. The digitally released tracks are performed by Duran Duran, Deftones, Gavin Rossdale, Yellowcard, Widespread Panic, O.A.R., Ben Jelen, Me'Shell Ndegčocello, Rocky Duwani, Emmanuel Jal, and the Fab Faux.

"It's wonderful that, through this campaign, music that is so familiar to many people of my era will now be embraced by a whole new generation," Ono said in a statement. "John's music set out to inspire change, and in standing up for human rights, we really can make the world a better place."

Click here to stream the entire Instant Karma double album.


Track listing for Instant Karma:

Disc One

U2 -- "Instant Karma"

R.E.M. -- "#9 Dream"

Christina Aguilera -- "Mother"

Aerosmith featuring Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars -- "Give Peace a Chance"

Lenny Kravitz -- "Cold Turkey"

Los Lonely Boys -- "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"

Corinne Bailey Rae -- "I'm Losing You"

Jakob Dylan featuring Dhani Harrison -- "Gimme Some Truth"

Jackson Browne -- "Oh My Love"

Avril Lavigne -- "Imagine"

Big & Rich -- "Nobody Told Me"

Youssou N'Dour -- "Jealous Guy"


Disc Two:

Green Day -- "Working Class Hero"

Black Eyed Peas -- "Power to the People"

Jack Johnson -- "Imagine"

Ben Harper -- "Beautiful Boy"

Snow Patrol -- "Isolation"

Matisyahu -- "Watching the Wheels"

The Postal Service -- "Grow Old With Me"

Jaguares -- "Gimme Some Truth"

The Flaming Lips -- "(Just Like) Starting Over"

Jack's Mannequin featuring Mick Fleetwood -- "God"

Regina Spektor -- "Real Love"


Exclusive Digital Tracks:

Duran Duran -- "Instant Karma"

Deftones -- "Jealous Guy"

Gavin Rossdale -- "Mind Games"

Yellowcard -- "Oh, My Love"

Widespread Panic -- "Crippled Inside"

O.A.R. -- "Borrowed Time"

Ben Jelen -- "Woman"

Me'Shell Ndegčocello -- "Imagine"

Rocky Dawuni -- "Well, Well, Well"

Emmanuel Jal -- "Mother"

The Fab Faux -- "I Don't Wanna to Face It"

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5 Comments

Oldest First | Newest First
i want to
Posted 05/23/2009 12:34pm
awesome.
Posted 06/21/2007 3:54pm
Awesome. Green Day's cover of Working Class Hero is great.
Posted 06/17/2007 11:09am
I'd like to see an 'Imagine' campaign. Although the abolishment of countries and religion would take considerable diplomacy, even for the highest profile celebrities. ----------------------------------------------
The Brill - the best possible music
Posted 06/16/2007 9:20pm
I like to see when celebrities get together for a good cause.
Posted 06/15/2007 7:29am
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