American Laundromat Records has enlisted a herd of indie-rock luminaries — including The Wedding Present, Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch, Throwing Muses co-founder Tanya Donelly, Telekinesis and Stars — to contribute covers of more than 20 classic songs by The Smiths for a new tribute album to be released this December.
We first reported on Please, Please, Please: A Tribute to the Smiths in its early stages last February, but the 20-song tracklist is now finalized and its release is set for Dec. 13.
The set is available for pre-order in three configurations: a $13 bundle, which includes the CD and a one-inch promo pin; a $20 bundle, which includes the CD, a limited-edition 7-inch with three more covers, a download of those tracks, and the pin; or a $35 bundle, which includes the CD, the 7-inch, the downloads, the pin, a T-shirt and a “private preview of the album.”
In a fitting touch, the label — which previously has released the compilations Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to The Cure and Dig for Fire: A Tribute to the Pixies — was able to secure a photo of ’60s U.K. pop star Sandie Shaw for the cover art; Shaw, of course, was a favorite of both Morrissey and Johnny Marr who, in 1984, covered The Smiths’ “Hand in Glove.”
Also of note: The CD features a newly recorded cover of “Reel Around the Fountain” from Built to Spill’s Martsch, who, in 1998, paid tribute to that song with “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain,” the opening track to The Rebels Not In, the third album from his side project The Halo Benders.
Tracklist: Please, Please, Please: A Tribute to The Smiths
1. “Panic” — Kitten
2. “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” — The Rest
3. “What Difference Does It Make?” — Joy Zipper
4. “Shoplifters Of The World Unite” — Tanya Donelly w/Dylan in the Movies
5. “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” — William Fitzsimmons
6. “I Won’t Share You” — Sixpence None the Richer
7. “Well I Wonder” — Sara Lov
8. “Half A Person” — Greg Laswell
9. “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” — Dala
10. “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” — Chikita Violenta
11. “Sheila Take A Bow” — Telekinesis
12. “Is It Really So Strange?” — Solvents
13. “Hand In Glove” — The Wedding Present
14. “How Soon Is Now?” — Mike Viola and The Section Quartet
15. “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” — Trespassers William
16. “Rubber Ring” — Girl in a Coma
17. “I Know It’s Over” — Elk City
18. “What She Said” — Katy Goodman (La Sera, Vivian Girls)
19. “London” — Cinerama
20. “Reel Around the Fountain” — Doug Martsch (Built To Spill)
Exclusive Limited Edition Bonus 7-inch
1. “Asleep” — Stars
2. “Girl Afraid” — C’est la Mort
3. “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” — The Caulfield Sisters
