January 27, 2014

Music Review: “Mr. President Have Pity on the Working Man” by Hard Working Americans

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TRACK 8

“Mr. President Have Pity on the Working Man”

From Hard Working Americans (self-titled)

MELVIN/THIRTY TIGERS

Liner notes: “We just can’t make it by ourselves,” wheezes Todd Snider, as searing slide guitar recasts Randy Newman’s populist lament as scruffy country blues.

Behind the music: Snider, who does his own iconoclastic alt-country solo act, joined members of Widespread Panic and Chris Robinson’s band for this earthy covers set, which includes songs associated with the likes of BR549 and Lucinda Williams.

Check it out if you like: Forward-thinking roots artists, including Bottle Rockets, the Drive-By Truckers, and Iris DeMent.

This review originally appeared in our January/February issue of Mother Jones.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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