Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies

On September 9, 2008, Standard Recording Company released a triple CD Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies, a collection penned by songwriters J. Matthew Gerken of Nice Monster, Christian Kiefer, and Jefferson Pitcher (formerly of Above the Orange Trees). The set features a slew of special studio guests including Califone, Rosie Thomas, Bill Callahan (Smog), Alan Sparhawk (Low), Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon), Marla Hansen (Sufjan Stevens), Steve Dawson (Dolly Varden), Vince DiFiore (Cake), Monahans, James Jackson Toth (Wooden Wand), and Tom Carter (Charalambides).

History

This project initially came about as part of "February Album Writing Month," a website that challenges songwriters to write 14 songs in 28 days. The three songwriters wrote and recorded rough demos of the first 42 songs in February 2006 (leaving only George W. Bush for later). "It was an amazing challenge to get that many songs written, even split three ways," notes Kiefer. "Blasting the first four or five is easy and then you’ve used up all the ideas that have been floating around and have to come up with new ones. And you have to come up with those new ideas right now."

It was decided soon after that the project was too interesting to leave in the demo stage and so the recording process began anew with guests coming into the fray as time and schedules allowed. The project is now in its final phases. "It's a walk through American history and an inquiry into what makes us Americans as filtered through the lens of our highest public office. There's heartbreak and beauty and criticism and revelation. We’re trying to make it work like a big beautiful historical novel."

The released project includes a 100+ page book featuring individual images of the presidents by 43 different visual artists and illustrators, all hand-selected by art curator Pitcher to be included in the project.

Kiefer's album Dogs & Donkeys (Undertow) appeared to favorable reviews last year and featured guests Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker (Low), Nels Cline (Wilco, The Geraldine Fibbers, etc.), and Garth Hudson (The Band). Kiefer and Jefferson Pitcher also saw the release of their collaboration To All Dead Sailors via Australia's Camera Obscura earlier this year, a project recorded in the midst of the presidential election. Pitcher's recent concept album I am not in Spain was also released this year on Mudita Records. Gerken's acoustic indie-math rock quartet Nice Monster is also in the studio recording a follow-up EP to their full-length Good Times + Sharp Knives (Grayscale).

Following the 2008 United States Presidential Election, a final song, called "Someone to Wake," was written for Barack Obama and made available for download.

Disc one

George Washington: Washington Dreams of the Hippopotamus (Feat. Vince DiFiore of Cake) - artwork by CW Roelle
John Adams: Armed with Only Wit and Vigor and the U.S. Navy (Feat. These United States) - artwork by Rob Fisk
Thomas Jefferson: The Mouldboard of Least Resistance - artwork by Keri Smith
James Madison: Zinger - artwork by Christa Dalien
James Monroe: The Last Cocked Hat (Feat. Marla Hansen) - artwork by Helena Keefe
John Quincy Adams: Death In The Speaker's Room - artwork by Jefferson Pitcher
Andrew Jackson: Benevolence (Feat. Califone) - artwork by Christine Castro
Martin Van Buren: The Little Magician (Feat. Tom Brosseau) - artwork by Penelope Dullaghan
William Henry Harrison: So You Don't Have To - artwork by Natasha Robinson
John Tyler: Hindsight Falls On Deaf Ears (Feat. Bill Callahan) - artwork by Jeremy Kalgreen
James K. Polk: The Other is Better / The Landscape to Transform (Feat. Monahans) - artwork by Jason Sinclair Long
Zachary Taylor: Rough and Ready - artwork by Matthew McCord
Millard Fillmore: The Proof Is In The Pudding - artwork by Steve Lambert
Franklin Pierce: My Only Enemy Is Myself - artwork by Shari Elf

Disc two

James Buchanan: God Will Strike You Down (Feat. Marla Hansen) - artwork by Jen Corace
Abraham Lincoln: Malice, Charity, And The Oath of God (Feat. James Jackson Toth) - artwork by Matthew Passmore
Andrew Johnson: Was Ever Alone? - artwork by Scott Kattenbraker
Ulysses S. Grant: Helicopters Above Oakland - artwork by Andrea Scher-Passmore
Rutherford B. Hayes: The Beard of God - artwork by Erik Werner
James A. Garfield: Seven Months - artwork by Danny Gregory
Chester A. Arthur: The Epitome of Dignity - artwork by Brian Biggs
Grover Cleveland: Bees And Honey - artwork by Julia Schwandron
Benjamin Harrison: Kid Gloves Hands Surplus to Big Sugar - artwork by Jeana Baumgardner
Grover Cleveland: Rubbermouth - artwork by Chris Wisnia
William McKinley: Czolgosz's Dream (Feat. Magnolia Summer) - artwork by Christian Kiefer
Theodore Roosevelt: The Sherman Act Does Not Care - artwork by Josh Schramm
William Howard Taft: There Was No Longer Use To Hide The Fact That It Was Gout (Feat. Marla Hansen) - artwork by Eun-Ha Paek
Woodrow Wilson: A Life Among Men (Feat. Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu) - artwork by Anthony Dihle

Disc three

Warren G. Harding: An Army Of Pompous Phrases - artwork by Laura Edmisten
Calvin Coolidge: On Silence (Feat. Radar Bros.) - artwork by Kevin Scalzo
Herbert Hoover: Woe Is A Spoon-Shaped Heart (Feat. Marla Hansen) - artwork by Bart Woodstrup
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Illuminating The Bright Lines - artwork by Rama Hughes
Harry S. Truman: Suits And Fine Trousers Vs. Hiroshima (Feat. Denison Witmer) - artwork by Kurt Lightner
Dwight D. Eisenhower: When Ike Walked The Land (Feat. Alan Sparhawk & Mark Kozelek) - artwork by Maureen Gubia
John F. Kennedy: There Is No Plan - artwork by Peter Arkle
Lyndon B. Johnson: Ladybird Take Me Home (Feat. Steve Dawson) - artwork by Cynthia Yardley
Richard Nixon: 2 Under Par Off The Coast of Africa (Feat. Tom Carter) - artwork by Ralph Tepel
Gerald Ford: Now You See It, Now You Don't See It (Feat. Vince DiFiore) - artwork by Mike Bullock
Jimmy Carter: A Great Beam of Light (Feat. Rosie Thomas) - artwork by Trystan Bates
Ronald Reagan: Such A Marvelous Dream (Feat. Califone) - artwork by Camilla Engman
George H. W. Bush: It Was Foreshadowed Here: The Beginning of The End - artwork by Marissa Tamari
Bill Clinton: The Mighty Lion Will Not Roar Again - artwork by Kevin Seconds
George W. Bush: Though The Night - artwork by Nicole Roberts

Sources and external links

Of Great and Mortal Men - Official blog
Presidents' Songs: Of Legends And 'Mortal Men' NPR coverage by Joel Rose (2008)
43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies at Sixth and I