[Western Music Commentary x Peace Studies No.026] Earthrise: The Rainforest Album — A 20-Year Journey Connected by a 1992 Album

🎸 Extra Edition: Album Introduction

　In 1992, as a young person in Vancouver, I picked up a CD.

　"Earthrise: The Rainforest Album"—the rising of the Earth. An album for the rainforest.

　I saw the cover, I saw the title, and it clicked. I bought it without even checking what was inside (laughs).

　I didn't know about the Rio Summit. I didn't know about the Earth Love Fund. I just had an intuition that said, "This is it."

　Looking back now, I can only call it fate—I believe I was meant to buy it.

　Twenty years later, in 2012, I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Background of This Album's Creation

　"Earthrise: The Rainforest Album" was released on June 1, 1992, as the official album of the UN Earth Summit (Rio Summit).

　It was produced by the Earth Love Fund (ELF)—a British organization established in 1989 to protect rainforests. With the cooperation of Virgin Records founder Richard Branson, they first produced a charity single titled "Spirit of the Forest" in 1989. Following that momentum, this album was created to coincide with the 1992 Rio Summit.

・What is the UN Earth Summit (Rio Summit)?: The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. 178 countries participated, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity were adopted. This conference was also the catalyst for the global spread of the concept of "sustainable development."

・Album Concept: All proceeds were donated to the Earth Love Fund's rainforest protection activities. The jacket states, "By purchasing this album, you are supporting rainforest communities, raising awareness, and contributing to projects that protect the rainforest for future generations."

・The title "Earthrise": The "Earthrise" photo taken in 1968 by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders—the blue Earth rising from the lunar horizon. That photo became a symbol of the modern environmental movement. The message that "the Earth seen from space is one" is embedded in this title.

Featured Artists and Tracklist

　U2, Julian Lennon, Eurythmics, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Elton John, R.E.M., Artists United for Nature, Sting, Seal, Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush, Steve Winwood, Dire Straits, Spirit of the Forest, Genesis, and Queen—16 artists provided their signature songs for this album.

　A lineup that transcends genres, generations, and nationalities—yet everyone is connected by the single point of being "for the Earth."

　In this series, I will explain the background, lyrics, and peace studies significance of each of the 16 songs one by one. Note that while the versions of this album seem to differ slightly by country of release, I will be explaining the Canadian version that I purchased.

From 1992 to 2012—My 20 Years with Earthrise

　When I bought it in Vancouver based on the cover, I knew nothing about the Rio Summit. This album, which I picked up on pure intuition, was perfectly aligned with the direction of my life—looking back now, I believe I was meant to buy it.

In December of that year, I stepped into the rainforests of Costa Rica for the first time. It was the moment I felt with my own body the "overwhelming density of nature" that I had imagined while listening to Earthrise.

And then, 2012.

Rio+20—the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Summit—was held once again in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I participated in that conference.

I couldn't get into the main conference hall because the application process for permission to attend that session didn't make it in time—but I facilitated a session on nuclear abolition at a side event.

There, I met a Brazilian man. He was a worker who had suffered radiation exposure at a factory. His hands were swollen from the effects of the exposure.

He brought up the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident that had occurred the previous year and said to me, a Japanese person: "I stand in solidarity with you."

I was choked up. I had no choice but to reply, "And I with you."

People from various countries—Mongolia, Canada, France—had gathered at that session. The issue of nuclear power was connecting people all over the world as a problem that transcends national borders.

A young person who had bought this album in Vancouver in 1992 without even knowing about the Rio Summit was meeting such people in Rio 20 years later—this is my 20-year journey connected by the album Earthrise.

Listening to Earthrise "as an album"

I have one request for everyone reading this series.

If possible, please listen to this album all the way through "as an album."

It begins with U2's question of "what we haven't found yet," continues with Julian Lennon, Eurythmics, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Elton John, and R.E.M., shifts with Artists United for Nature's "Yes We Can," continues with Sting, Seal, Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush, Steve Winwood, and Dire Straits, returns to the origins of the forest with Spirit of the Forest, and after the vibrancy of Genesis, Queen quietly asks: "Is This the World We Created?"

There is an intention behind the track order. By listening through the flow of questioning, despair, empathy, fatigue, transition, and the final question, what this album is trying to convey reaches your body.

Just as you wouldn't want to read only one chapter of a book, you shouldn't listen to just one song from an album. Earthrise is a single "story" that is only completed when listened to from beginning to end.

Now, let's begin the journey of this album, which was born in the year of the 1992 Rio Summit, together.

Note: Starting tomorrow, I will post one song per day in album order as a free article. I plan to make them paid content after a certain period, so don't miss it!

📌 About this series [Western Music Commentary x Peace Studies]—if you are new, please check out the article here.