Concept albums produced by Hal Willner •
Amarcord Nino Rota (1981) Willner's first tribute album salutes Italian composer
Nino Rota, and features interpretation of his music for
Federico Fellini films by jazz musicians including:
Wynton and
Branford Marsalis;
Carla Bley;
Muhal Richard Abrams;
Bill Frisell;
Steve Lacy; and
Jaki Byard; plus singer–songwriter
Deborah Harry. • ''That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to
Thelonious Monk'' (1984) features pop and jazz musicians including
NRBQ,
Steve Lacy,
Dr. John,
John Zorn,
Donald Fagen, and
Peter Frampton. •
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (1985) features musicians ranging from
Sting to
Charlie Haden •
Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films (1988) features performances of songs from
Walt Disney movies by a large cast of artists ranging from
Sun Ra to
NRBQ,
Michael Stipe,
Ringo Starr,
Yma Sumac and
Ken Nordine •
Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus (1992) is a tribute to
Charles Mingus, featuring instruments designed and built by American composer
Harry Partch, on loan from his estate. Performers include
Bill Frisell,
Vernon Reid,
Henry Rollins,
Keith Richards,
Charlie Watts,
Don Byron,
Henry Threadgill,
Gary Lucas,
Bobby Previte,
Robert Quine,
Leonard Cohen,
Diamanda Galás,
Chuck D, Francis Thumm, and
Elvis Costello •
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (1994) re-creation of the previous Weill tribute as a
Canadian TV special directed by Larry Weinstein. A CD was issued including performances by
Nick Cave and
PJ Harvey. The list of performers on this recording is different from the list of performers on his previous Weill tribute. Some of those that are on both tributes, such as
Lou Reed and
Charlie Haden, provide new recordings of the pieces they contributed previously. Many of the songs included are the same, although the new recording tends toward more historical recordings (
Lotte Lenya,
Bertolt Brecht, and Weill himself), while the previous one tended toward more avant-garde tributes. •
Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen (2003) another Larry Weinstein TV program. The CD includes performances by
Rufus Wainwright,
Debbie Harry,
David Johansen, Eric Mingus and
Sandra Bernhard • ''
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man'' (2006) soundtrack for
Lian Lunson's documentary film about Willner's
Leonard Cohen tribute event
Came So Far for Beauty • ''
Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys'' (2006) Double CD includes performers ranging from
Bono to
Van Dyke Parks. •
The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (2006). Recorded at Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project events in London (1999), Brooklyn (1999) and LA (2001), plus a DVD documentary. •
Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys (2013) is a
compilation album of
sea shanties and the follow-up to 2006's ''Rogue's Gallery''. •
Will Anybody Know That I Was Here: The Songs of Beulah Rowley (2016). A concept album about a Depression-era singer/songwriter, written and performed by
Mary Lee Kortes, produced by Hal Willner, recorded at John Kilgore Sound & Recording. This was Willner's last single-artist album. Special guests include
Joe Jackson,
Lenny Pickett,
Eric "Roscoe" Ambel,
Charlie Burnham,
Doug Weiselman,
Shawn Pelton. •
AngelHeaded Hipster : The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex (2020) is a compilation album that pays tribute to
Marc Bolan and his group
T. Rex. Willner relates in the notes to the album that he was a fan of Bolan since the 1970s. Decades later, BMG approached Willner to produce a tribute album to Marc as a composer, and
AngelHeaded Hipster is the result. The double CD and vinyl album includes performances by
Kesha,
Nick Cave,
Joan Jett,
Devendra Banhart,
Lucinda Williams,
Peaches,
BORNS,
Beth Orton,
King Khan,
Gaby Moreno,
U2 and
Elton John,
John Cameron Mitchell,
Emily Haines,
Father John Misty,
Perry Farrell,
Elysian Fields,
Gavin Friday,
Nena,
Marc Almond,
Helga Davis,
Todd Rundgren,
Jesse Harris,
Sean Lennon and
Charlotte Kemp Muhl,
Victoria Williams and
Julian Lennon,
David Johanson, and
Maria McKee, with vocal contributions from
Richard Barone, Jenni Muldaur, and
Rolan Bolan. The album was released in September 2020, following Willner's death.
Themed concerts produced by Hal Willner •
Greetings from Tim Buckley (Brooklyn 1991) •
Nevermore: Poems & Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (Brooklyn 1995), which led to the album
Closed on Account of Rabies (1997), then ''Hal Willner's Halloween Show: Never Bet the Devil your Head
(Los Angeles 2002), then Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe'' (Los Angeles 2001) •
Tribute to Allen Ginsberg (Los Angeles) •
Marquis de Sade's writings (New York 1998) •
The Harry Smith Project (London 1999, Los Angeles 2001) •
The Doc Pomus Project (New York City 2001) •
Came So Far for Beauty, An Evening of Songs by Leonard Cohen (Brooklyn 2003, Brighton 2004, Sydney 2005, Dublin 2006) •
Dream Comfort Memory Despair: The Songs of Neil Young (Brooklyn 2004), followed by ''Hal Willner's Neil Young Project'' (Vancouver 2010) •
Perfect Partners: Nino Rota & Federico Fellini (London 2004) •
Shock and Awe: The Songs of Randy Newman (Los Angeles 2004) • ''Let's Eat: Feasting on
The Firesign Theatre'' (Los Angeles 2004) •
Forest of No Return: Hal Willner Presents Vintage Disney Songbook (London 2007), followed by
Stay Awake: 20th anniversary of the classic recording of Disney songs (Brooklyn 2008) (''Hal Willner's Stay Awake'' at
UCLA was scheduled for October 30, 2008, but was cancelled due to unavailability of some performers) • ''Rogue's Gallery'' (NYC 2007, Dublin 2008, London 2008, Gateshead 2008, Sydney 2010) • ''Hal Willner's
Bill Withers Project'' (Brooklyn 2008) •
Begats: Readings of the Work of Burroughs, DeSade & Poe (Brooklyn 2009) •
Gotta Right to Sing the Blues? Music and Readings from A Fine Romance, Jewish Songwriters, American Songs (NYC 2010) • ''Hal Willner's
Freedom Riders Project'' (Brooklyn 2011) •
Shelebration: The Works of Shel Silverstein (New York 2011) •
Hal Willner’s Amarcord Nino Rota (London,
The Barbican, 2013; New York,
Lincoln Center, 2018) •
The Bells: A Day Long Celebration of Lou Reed (New York, July 30, 2016) • 'Tomorrow Is A Long Time: Songs from Bob Dylan's 1963 Town Hall Concert' (New York Town Hall Thursday, May 24, 2018)
Spoken word recordings With the increasing prevalence of tribute albums in the late 1980s (such as
Red Hot + Blue), Willner decided to turn his attention to
spoken word recordings. •
Dead City Radio (1990) by William Burroughs has musical backing by
Sonic Youth,
Donald Fagen,
John Cale and others. •
Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales (1996) by William Burroughs with music by
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. •
The Lion for Real by
Allen Ginsberg (Mouth Almighty Records 1989) features musical accompaniment by
Bill Frisell,
Philip Glass,
Paul McCartney and others. •
Closed on Account of Rabies (Mouth Almighty Records 1997) consists of readings of
Edgar Allan Poe poems and tales by
Iggy Pop and others. As Willner's only "spoken word" tribute album, it fits in the context of his other music-based tributes. •
In with the Out Crowd (Mouth Almighty Records 1998) by poet
Bob Holman. •
Let the Buyer Beware (2004) is an authoritative six CD box set of historic recordings by the
comedian Lenny Bruce. •
The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved starring
Tim Robbins as
Hunter S. Thompson, delivering an inspired read of the legendary 1970 sports article for Scanlan's Monthly, which is widely credited as the origin of 'Gonzo Journalism'. Co-starring
Ralph Steadman, as himself, with musical accompaniment by
Bill Frisell Film-related projects •
The Carl Stalling Project: Two CDs of music composed and/or arranged by
Carl Stalling for
Warner Brothers cartoons. The first CD was released in 1990; "Volume 2" was released in 1995. • The soundtracks to
Robert Altman's films
Short Cuts (1993) and
Kansas City (1996). • Music Supervisor or Producer for
The Million Dollar Hotel (Dir.
Wim Wenders, 2000),
Finding Forester (Dir.
Gus Van Sant, 2000),
Gangs of New York (Dir.
Martin Scorsese, 2002),
Talladega Nights (Dir.
Adam McKay, 2006), and others. ==References==