T Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue gets released

Proceeds from album sales, as with the live show, will benefit The Participant Foundation, to support the inclusion of music and arts education in public school systems.

In October 2010, Burnett organized a group of musicians, dubbed The Speaking Clock Revue, and joined with Participant Media for concerts benefiting arts education. The lineup included Elton John, Elvis Costello, Leon Russell, John Mellencamp, Gregg Allman, Ralph Stanley, Jeff Bridges, Neko Case, Jim James, Punch Brothers, Karen Elson and The Secret Sisters. The Speaking Clock Revue featured a house band made up of musicians from many Burnett-produced recordings and led by music director and guitarist Marc Ribot.

Burnett was inspired to do the fundraising concerts after attending an early screening of Participant's documentary "Waiting for "Superman," from filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, which focused on the troubled state of public education in the U.S.

Burnett, well-known for his support of the roots and American music traditions, had collaborated previously with nearly all of the performers on The Speaking Clock Revue, with the exception of Jim James, Elson and Punch Brothers.

"The privacy and the intimacy of the studio afford artists the freedom to create," Burnett said, "but something thrilling happens in getting away from the machines and into the live communication of real-time storytelling in the larger community. The first tour I went on, my first job in show business, was on The Rolling Thunder Revue, and I've come back to that type of collaborative and extraordinarily rewarding experience from time to time."

Tracks are:

1. Jimmie Standing In The Rain - Elvis Costello

2. Midnight Rider - Gregg Allman

3. Hold On, Hold On - Neko Case

4. Rye Whiskey - Punch Brothers

5. Wonderful (The Way I Feel) - Jim James

6. The Truth Is In The Dirt - Karen Elson

7. The One I Love Is Gone - The Secret Sisters

8. Troubled Land - John Mellencamp

9. Lift Him Up That's All - Ralph Stanley

10. Fallin' & Flyin' - Jeff Bridges

11. Monkey Suit - Elton John & Leon Russell