Score one for ex-employees of major labels! A former A&R assistant for Columbia Records has unearthed the unreleased music from a 1995 planned benefit CD for Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who many bands in the '90s believed had been wrongfully imprisoned for the 1975 murder of two FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
As Pitchfork points out, the ex-Columbia staffer, who does not identify him or herself, has posted the full compilation album - entitled Exiled in the Land of the Free - for free download at this location. The compilation, which is said to have been helmed by the guys in Corrosion of Conformity, also features the likes of Josh Homme, Beastie Boys, Superchunk, Helmet, Bad Religion, Quicksand, Biohazard and Zack de la Rocha,
Peltier is still behind bars in Pennsylvania without the option of a retrial or clemency, and he won't be up for parole again until 2024. While it's unclear how long the compilation music will be available, since none of this sounds very legit, the person behind the download website did say he or she hoped the bands involved would allow the music to be shared freely, given that 16 years have passed since the compilation was shelved and also because of the seriousness of Peltier's plight.
A post alongside the comp reads, "To the artists: I apologize for the release of these materials without getting anyone's approval, but I believe the cause needs to be heard and I trust you will remember why you chose to take place in this benefit 16 years past. Apologies to those artists whose tracks were not part of the archive I had, but who were listed in some of the compilation notes, including Big Chief, Gruntruck and Neurosis."
And a June 3,1995 Billboard article cites unreleased material by Sick of It All and Rage Against the Machine was also to appear on the compilation, but there's no sign of those songs on the download tracklisting (although RATM singer Zack De La Rocha shows up fronting Corrosion of Conformity on a cover of the Minutemen's "The Punchline, and RATM also get a live track).
Also of note is the inclusion of a Josh Homme demo that predates his Queens of the Stone Age material, but came right around the breakup of Kyuss.
Exiled in the Land of the Free:
1. The Goats - "Leonard Peltier in a Cage"
2. New Bomb Turks - "Stick It Out"
3. Rage Against the Machine: "Wake Up (Live)"
4. Corrosion of Conformity - "Land of the Free Disease"
5. Chavez - "I Saw It Move"
6. Josh Homme - "If Only" (demo)
7. Beaver Chef - "Long Ago"
8. Superchunk - "I Can Still Feed Myself Thanks"
9. Helmet - "Just a Patsy"
10. Bad Religion - "Atomic Garden"
11. Silica Gel - "Punishment"
12. Giant Sand - "Spirits"
13. The Goats - "¿Do the Digs Dug?"
14. Quicksand - "Clean Slate" (live)
15. Beastie Boys - "(R)Evolution Time"
16. Biohazard - "Scumbag"
17. Brother Sun - "Redman"
18. Mike Watt - "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" (live)
19. Zack De La Rocha and Corrosion of Conformity - "The Punchline"
20. Leonard Peltier - "Greetings from Leonard Peltier"
As Pitchfork points out, the ex-Columbia staffer, who does not identify him or herself, has posted the full compilation album - entitled Exiled in the Land of the Free - for free download at this location. The compilation, which is said to have been helmed by the guys in Corrosion of Conformity, also features the likes of Josh Homme, Beastie Boys, Superchunk, Helmet, Bad Religion, Quicksand, Biohazard and Zack de la Rocha,
Peltier is still behind bars in Pennsylvania without the option of a retrial or clemency, and he won't be up for parole again until 2024. While it's unclear how long the compilation music will be available, since none of this sounds very legit, the person behind the download website did say he or she hoped the bands involved would allow the music to be shared freely, given that 16 years have passed since the compilation was shelved and also because of the seriousness of Peltier's plight.
A post alongside the comp reads, "To the artists: I apologize for the release of these materials without getting anyone's approval, but I believe the cause needs to be heard and I trust you will remember why you chose to take place in this benefit 16 years past. Apologies to those artists whose tracks were not part of the archive I had, but who were listed in some of the compilation notes, including Big Chief, Gruntruck and Neurosis."
And a June 3,1995 Billboard article cites unreleased material by Sick of It All and Rage Against the Machine was also to appear on the compilation, but there's no sign of those songs on the download tracklisting (although RATM singer Zack De La Rocha shows up fronting Corrosion of Conformity on a cover of the Minutemen's "The Punchline, and RATM also get a live track).
Also of note is the inclusion of a Josh Homme demo that predates his Queens of the Stone Age material, but came right around the breakup of Kyuss.
Exiled in the Land of the Free:
1. The Goats - "Leonard Peltier in a Cage"
2. New Bomb Turks - "Stick It Out"
3. Rage Against the Machine: "Wake Up (Live)"
4. Corrosion of Conformity - "Land of the Free Disease"
5. Chavez - "I Saw It Move"
6. Josh Homme - "If Only" (demo)
7. Beaver Chef - "Long Ago"
8. Superchunk - "I Can Still Feed Myself Thanks"
9. Helmet - "Just a Patsy"
10. Bad Religion - "Atomic Garden"
11. Silica Gel - "Punishment"
12. Giant Sand - "Spirits"
13. The Goats - "¿Do the Digs Dug?"
14. Quicksand - "Clean Slate" (live)
15. Beastie Boys - "(R)Evolution Time"
16. Biohazard - "Scumbag"
17. Brother Sun - "Redman"
18. Mike Watt - "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" (live)
19. Zack De La Rocha and Corrosion of Conformity - "The Punchline"
20. Leonard Peltier - "Greetings from Leonard Peltier"
