The
John Legend
-curated soundtrack for director
Steve McQueen
's big screen rendering of
Solomon Northup
's autobiography 12 Years a Slave features 16 tracks, including two selections ("Washington" and "Solomon") from composer
Hans Zimmer
's evocative score. Operating under the "music from and inspired by" adage, the 14 remaining cuts explore themes of suffering, redemption, and freedom through contributions from a diverse group of artists including
Alicia Keys
("Queen of the Field [Patsey's Song]"),
Alabama Shakes
("Driva Man"),
Chris Cornell
feat.
Joy Williams
("Misery Chain"),
Gary Clark, Jr.
("[In the Evening] When the Sun Goes Down"),
Laura Mvula
("Little Girl Blue"), and
Legend
himself ("Roll Jordan Roll"). ~ James Christopher Monger