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Produced by Shawn Amos and Paul Heck, In The Name Of
Love: Africa Celebrates U2 features Grammy Award-winning/nominated
African artists as well as top up-and-coming talents including
Angelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, Sierra Leone's Refugee All
Stars, Vieux Farka Touré, Vusi Mahlasela and the
Soweto Gospel Choir. Initially inspired by his work in
South Africa while running the Quincy Jones Listen Up
Foundation, Amos re-entered the music industry with a
heartfelt initiative to cultivate greater awareness of
the emerging socio-economic success stories happening
within many of the country's regions. Amos, a longtime
fan of U2, witnessed Bono's direct philanthropic impact
via the launch of the ONE campaign and (RED), and his
poignant outspoken public commentary on the immediate
financial needs facing Africa.
Amos felt it was essential that African musicians unite
and collectively share their voices of pride, accomplishment
and appreciation for both their native country and icons
like Bono who've substantially embraced the fight against
the global AIDS crisis, extreme poverty and the spread
of malaria. On December 1, 2006 at the World AIDS Day
benefit concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Amos
approached Red Hot producer Paul Heck about co-producing
In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. Several notable
African artists were performing as part of Heck's live
production of Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of
Fela Kuti including Les Nubians, Tony Allen, Cheikh Lô
and Keziah Jones. Heck expressed support for the budding
project, and quickly became an invaluable partner with
his strong ties to various well-established African artists
and knowledge of a handful of buzz-worthy upstarts. Together,
they consulted with the artists appearing at the World
AIDS Day event, bringing Amos's personal dream a step
closer to becoming a reality.
"Paul and I wanted to develop an easy entry point
for the growing global community where they could get
more involved and learn something deeper about Africa,"
says Amos. "It's really a focus on the key successes
of several regions, and the African artists who originate
from these areas. It's our goal for the public to learn
more about all the good that's happening in Africa. We
are trying to garner excitement about the culture, in
addition to drawing people toward the struggles of Darfur,
etc. This is a project which celebrates Africa!"
12 original interpretations of classic U2 hit songs and
some of their more obscure material are featured on In
The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. The collection
kicks off with Angelique Kidjo's powerful multilingual
cover of the 1991 chart-topper, "Mysterious Ways."
Aerosmith's Joe Perry joins Sierra Leone's Refugee All
Stars for an upbeat, guitar-driven take on "Seconds,"
a track from U2's third studio release, War (1983). Rising
Malian star, Vieux Farka Touré offers a trancy,
Sahara Desert blues-influenced rendition of "Bullet
The Blue Sky," an absolute standout performance of
one of U2's most-played live in concert tunes. Additional
highlights include Les Nubians dubbed-out dancefloor ready
version of "With Or Without You," the Soweto
Gospel Choir's epic a cappella version of "Pride
In The Name Of Love," and Tony Allen's Afrobeat translation
of "Where The Streets Have No Name Paul Heck notes
that, "I was amazed when we approached the artists
of how quickly they chose the songs they wanted to do.
Many of them grew up listening to U2, and knew the songs
so well."
In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 sets itself
apart from an array of other tribute albums as Amos and
Heck have captured a compassionate human element at its
core. The liner notes include demographic information,
e.g., each artist's country of origin, date of independence,
population size, main export, major issue facing the region,
recent actions taken to improve its current state, and
relevant websites with additional information. All of
the songs were recorded exclusively for this album, and
a portion of its proceeds will directly benefit The Global
Fund, the world's largest international financier of the
fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
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