The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
The Executioner's Last Songs, Vol. 1
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The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
The Executioner's Last Songs, Vol. 1
Bloodshot, 2002
RiYL: Mekons, Waco Brothers, Gram Parsons |
And maybe that's it. After all, any benefit CD against the death penalty is clearly aimed at the politicians up here. If the suits and ties on Capitol Hill pick up the disc and learn a thing or two, well, that'd be a bonus. But in the end, what we're left with is a mostly strong, sometimes beautiful assortment of tunes that, if nothing else, demonstrate that the Pine Valley Cosmos are one damn fine band, and guiding light Jon Langford is one passionate man.
Langford, who also laces 'em up with the Mekons and the Waco Brothers, came up with the concept two years ago to do a benefit for the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project after performing a few benefit gigs a few years back.
Now I'm not going to sit here and take sides on the death penalty debate, but I will tell you that for the most part, the songs on The Executioner's Last Songs, Vol. 1 will rip your heart out. And the star power certainly helps, what with such roots-rock luminaries as Neko Case, Janet Bean of Freakwater, Paul Burch, and (of course) Steve Earle lending their voices to the cause.
The CD starts off strong, with Brett Sparks of the Handsome Family checking in with husky version of the Louvin Brothers' "Knoxville Girl," a lamentable number about a man beating his lover to death and dumping the corpse in a nearby river.
From there, the pace picks up a little bit, with Rosie Flores's lighter, flighty version of Hank Williams' "I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive," and Bean's lilting send-up of Charley Pride's "The Snakes Crawl at Night." But the twin highlights of the disc are churned in by Lonesome Bob and Edith Frost. Lonesome Bob, a formidable singer/songwriter known perhaps more for his writing relationship with country über-babe Allison Moorer, delivers a killer take on Johnny Paycheck's "Pardon Me (I've Got Someone To Kill)." Bob's deep baritone certainly adds new urgency to the already desparate song, when he croons "I know I'll surely die for what I'm about to do / It don't matter / I'm a dead man anyhow."
Edith Frost also turns in a home run with an elegant revamping of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home," perhaps one the most affecting Death Row songs around, due in no small part to Haggard's own time spent in the Big House. While the original -- and likewise Gram Parsons' take on it -- is a slow, deliberate number, Frost and the Cosmos add a graceful drum beat and classic mandolin work, bringing a sense of accessibility to the otherwise mournful tune.
That's not to say the whole disc is a classic, as certain tunes seem out of place ("Gary Gilmore's Eyes") or disappointing, such as Steve Earle's rather plain version of the traditional number "Tom Dooley." On the whole, though, the album does present a string of heartbreaking songs that'll bring even the most hardened capital-punishment advocate to tears.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.