99 Songs of Revolution: Vol. 1

Background and release

99 Songs of Revolution was originally thought to be only a Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution release, as stated in the liner notes for their debut 2001 EP, A Call to Arms. Not much was known about the project until September 2008, when the project was officially and publicly announced. It was revealed that 99 Songs of Revolution would feature 99 cover songs spread out over eight full-length albums from four different artists. Each of the four bands, Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, Streetlight Manifesto and two currently unknown "Streetlight Manifesto related" artists, will release two albums in the series.

The project saw many tentative release dates in 2008 and 2009. Toward the end of 2009, Streetlight Manifesto announced that the first CD had been completed as was awaiting release from the record label. The band also hinted at the possibility of self-releasing the album on vinyl through the Pentimento Music Company "long before" their label could release it on CD. Also in late 2009, Streetlight Manifesto began previewing their songs from 99 Songs of Revolution on their website and during live performances.

The first release in the series, Volume 1 by Streetlight Manifesto, was released on March 16, 2010, through Victory Records. "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" was released as a single a week prior to the first volume's release.

Volume one features two songs written by Paul Simon, "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "Red Rubber Ball". "Red Rubber Ball" was never recorded by Simon and Garfunkel and was originally released by The Cyrkle. The album art contains a visual element for each track. For example, the Newsweek stand is a reference to a lyric in "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and the gravestone marked "Willie" is a reference to the antagonist in "The Troubadour".

Personnel

Streetlight Manifesto

Additional Musicians and Production