The Executioner's Last Songs
The Executioner's Last Songsis an album with a political purpose--artists' proceeds benefit charitable organizations working to end the death penalty--but by and large it doesn't preach. Instead, Jon Langford, his Pine Valley Cosmonauts, and a bevy of guest vocalists--many of whom also appeared on the Cosmonauts' cowboy-jazz covers record,Salute the Majesty of Bob Wills--simply sing "songs of murder, mob-law, and cruel, cruel punishment." Although "stars" likeSteve EarleandNeko Casechip in, the best cuts come from lesser lights deploying a range of tactics: Some are faithful, includingEdith Frost(who coversMerle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home") and Brett Sparks of theHandsome Family("Knoxville Girl"), while others take chances that pay off--in particularDiane Izzo, who does justice toRalph Stanley's nearly impossible-to-cover "Oh Death." Then there's the creepy (Janet Bean ofFreakwaterskipping through theMel Tillistune "The Snakes Crawl at Night"), the unexpected (Jenny Toomey's take on Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets"), the oddly nonchalant (Rosie Floresdoing theHank Williamsstandard "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive"), and the downright weird (the little-heard Chris Ligon's "Great State of Texas").--Anders Smith Lindall