Released April 19, 2005 Length 40:58 Release date 19 April 2005 Label Gnashville Sounds | Recorded 2004 | |
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Genres Rock music, Country music, Folk music | ||
Greetings From Cairo, Illinois is a 2005 concept album and historical album by Stace England with songs referencing the history of Cairo, Illinois from 1858 to 2005. The project encompassed five years of research and two years of writing and recording the music.
Contents
The songs concern people, places and things throughout Cairo's history including Ulysses S. Grant, the American Civil War, blues music, lynching, the Great Migration (African American), Civil Rights struggles, vigilante groups, Jesse Jackson, political corruption, economic decline and hope for renewal.
The album was the subject of a radio documentary on VPRO Dutch National Broadcasting produced by noted musicologist and author Jan Donkers, and features a vocal performance by alternative country pioneer Jason Ringenberg of Jason & the Scorchers. The album's title and cover art are inspired by Bruce Springsteen's debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
Track listing
- "Goin' Down to Cairo" – 1:54
- "Cairo Blues" – 3:52
- "Grant Slept Here" – 3:25
- "Equal Opportunity Lynch Mob" – 3:56
- "The North Starts in Cairo" – 3:29
- "Far from the Tree" – 4:04
- "White Hats" – 4:54
- "Jesse's Comin' to Town" – 4:58
- "Buy My Votes" – 3:34
- "Prosperity Train" – 3:02
- "Can't We All Get Along" – 3:46
Songs
1Goin' Down to Cairo1:54
2Cairo Blues3:52
3Grant Slept Here3:25