J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Of Great And Mortal Men: 43 Songs For 43 U.S. Presidencies (2008)

The project Of Great and Mortal Men is a massive three-disc musical anthology created by J. Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer, and Jefferson Pitcher. The collection comprises 43 tracks, each dedicated to a distinct U.S. President, ranging from George Washington to George W. Bush, with a provision for the winner of the 2008 election. Approximately 100 guest musicians contributed to the recording, including notable artists such as Bill Callahan, Mark Kozelek, Alan Sparhawk, and Jamie Stewart.

Stylistically, the album is diverse, spanning genres from alt-country and folk to post-rock and drone. The project transcends being merely a musical work by offering listeners history lessons, poetry, and political biographies, complemented by a book featuring illustrations and lyrics. The lyrics often reinterpret historical events through the lens of personal experiences, fictional confessions, and irony, thereby humanizing political figures and stripping away their mythologized status. Despite criticism regarding certain tracks being overly wordy or somber, the work is recognized as a significant cultural phenomenon, timely released amidst a tense U.S. election cycle.

Tracklist:
1-1 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - George Washington (Washington Dreams Of The Hippopotamus) [4:21]
1-2 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - John Adams (Armed With Only Wit And The Vigor Of The U.S. Navy) [3:44]
1-3 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Thomas Jefferson (The Mouldboard Of Least Resistance) [4:52]
1-4 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - James Madison (Zinger) [3:17]
1-5 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - James Monroe (The Last Cocked Hat) [3:43]
1-6 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - John Quincy Adams (Death In The Speaker’s Room) [5:11]
1-7 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Andrew Jackson (Benevolence) [3:39]
1-8 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Martin Van Buren (The Little Magician) [5:06]
1-9 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - William Henry Harrison (So You Don’t Have To) [4:09]
1-10 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - John Tyler (Hindsight Falls On Deaf Ears) [3:34]
1-11 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - James Knox Polk (The Other Is Better / The Language To Transform) [6:02]
1-12 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Zachary Taylor (Rough And Ready) [4:08]
1-13 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Millard Fillmore (The Proof Is In The Pudding) [4:03]
1-14 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Franklin Pierce (My Only Enemy Is Myself) [2:21]
2-15 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - James Buchanan (God Will Strike You Down) [4:04]
2-16 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Abraham Lincoln (Malice, Charity, And The Oath Of God) [5:27]
2-17 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Andrew Johnson (Was Ever Alone?) [3:51]
2-18 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Ulysses Simpson Grant (Helicopters Above Oakland) [4:51]
2-19 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Rutherford Birchard Hayes (The Beard Of God) [3:30]
2-20 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - James Abram Garfield (Seven Months) [3:58]
2-21 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Chester Alan Arthur (The Epitome Of Dignity) [4:56]
2-22 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Stephen Grover Cleveland (Bees And Honey) [3:29]
2-23 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Benjamin Harrison (Kid Gloves Hands Surplus To Big Sugar) [2:31]
2-24 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Stephen Grover Cleveland (Rubbermouth) [3:52]
2-25 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - William McKinley (Czolgosz’s Dream) [4:05]
2-26 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Theodore Roosevelt (The Sherman Act Does Not Care) [2:49]
2-27 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - William Howard Taft (There Was No Longer Use To Hide The Fact That It Was Gout) [5:06]
2-28 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Thomas Woodrow Wilson (A Life Among Men) [3:40]
3-29 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Warren Gamaliel Harding (An Army Of Pompous Phrases) [4:52]
3-30 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - John Calvin Coolidge (On Silence) [3:58]
3-31 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Herbert Clark Hoover (Woe Is A Spoon-Shaped Heart) [4:30]
3-32 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Illuminating The Bright Lines) [5:08]
3-33 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Harry S. Truman (Suits And Fine Trousers Vs. Hiroshima) [3:07]
3-34 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Dwight David Eisenhower (When Ike Walked The Land) [4:08]
3-35 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - John Fitzgerald Kennedy (There Is No Plan) [5:53]
3-36 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Lyndon Baines Johnson (Ladybird Take Me Home) [3:17]
3-37 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Richard Milhous Nixon (2 Under Par Off The Coast Of Africa) [9:22]
3-38 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Gerald Rudolph Ford (Now You See It, Now You Don’t See It) [4:17]
3-39 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - James Earl Carter, Jr. (A Great Beam Of Light) [4:31]
3-40 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - Ronald Reagan (Such A Marvelous Dream) [5:05]
3-41 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - George Herbert Walker Bush (It Was Foreshadowed Here: The Beginning Of The End) [2:57]
3-42 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - William Jefferson Clinton (The Mighty Lion Will Not Roar Again) [5:38]
3-43 J. Matthew Gerken , Christian Kiefer & Jefferson Pitcher - George Walker Bush (Though The Night) [4:19]
3-44 Will Johnson;Will Johnson;Will Johnson - Barack Obama - Someone to Wake [5:03]