Executioner's Last Song (2002)

Product Summary Label: Bloodshot Records UPC: 00744302007427 Release Date: 3/19/2002 Buy.com Sku: 60540867 Item#: M2R2YJ Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Knoxville Girl - (with Brett Sparks) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 2. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive - (with Roise Flores) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 3. Gary Gilmore's Eyes - (with Dean Schlabowske) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 4. Snakes Crawl At Night, The - (with Janet Bean) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 5. Tom Dooley - (with Steve Earle) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 6. Hangman's Song, The - (with Puerto Muerto) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 7. Pardoon Me (I've Got Someone To Kill) - (with Lonesome Bob) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 8. Poor Ellen Smith - (with Neko Case) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 9. Miss Otis Regrets - (with Jenny Toomey) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 10. Judgement Day - (with Johnny Dowd & Jon Langford) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 11. Great State Of Texas - (with Chris Ligon) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 12. Sing Me Back Home - (with Edith Frost) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 13. Oh Death - (with Diane Izzo) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 14. Hanged Man - (with Rick Cookin Sherry) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 15. Plans We Made, The - (with Jon Langford/Sally Timms) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 16. 25 Minutes To Go - (with Frankie & Johnny Navin) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 17. Idiot Whistle - (with Tony Fitzpatrick) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts 18. Walls Of Time - (with Paul Burch) ~ The Pine Valley Cosmonauts   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info The Pine Valley Cosmonauts include: Jon Langford, Steve Goulding, Tom Ray. Additional personnel includes: Steve Earle, Brett Sparks, Janet Bean, Neko Case, Edith Frost, Paul Burch, Sally Timms. Recorded at Kingsize Sound Labs, Chicago, Illinois. It's a great idea, an album to benefit the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project, and who better to execute it (pun intended) than the linchpin of the Chicago alt-country movement, Mekons and Waco Brother member Jon Langford? He's reassembled the occasional Pine Valley Cosmonauts to back a bunch of artists on tales of death, murder, and execution. There's everything from the traditional and gruesome ("Knoxville Girl" from Brett Sparks and a very powerful, gritty "Tom Dooley" by Steve Earle, as graphic as any gangsta rap) to straight-up country (Johnny Paycheck's "Pardon Me (I've Got Someone to Kill)," which these days stands almost as a parody of a country song, albeit a chilling one), all the way to standards (post-punk feminist icon Jenny Toomey on a lovely acoustic rendition of Cole Porter's "Miss Otis Regrets"), punk (the Adverts' "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" interpreted by Dean Schlabowske), and originals (Johnny Dowd's "Judgement Day," among others). It's an odd assemblage, but it hangs together very well, not just because of the thematic content, but also the intensity of the performances, like Edith Frost's luminous "Sing Me Back Home" or Dianne Izzo's raw take on "Oh Death." Apart from contributing guitar and some vocals throughout, Langford does get a couple of moments in the spotlight, duetting on the Dowd cut, then on "The Plans We Made," a tale of love gone awfully wrong that he sings with fellow Mekon Sally Timms. There's no bad cut here, although Tony Fitzpatrick's "Idiot Whistle" proselytizes a little too much, and "The Hangman's Song" from Christa Meyer and Tim Kelley of Puerto Muerto is just plain weird. But this album makes its points in very plain, blunt terms, and offers some excellent music along the way. If you still don't think music and politics can mix, start here. ~ Chris Nickson Musical Guests Steve Earle Neko Case Sally Timms Edith Frost   Compilation Appearances For A Life Of Sin Down To The Promised Land-5 Ye Executioner's Last Song Making Singles Drinking Doubles (Limited Edition) Executioner's Last Songs: Volume 2 Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down: Old Town School Of Folk Music Vol 1 Face A Frowning World:ec Ball Memoria   Technical Info Release Date : 07/11/2005 Original Release Date : 2002 Catalog ID : 74 Label : Bloodshot Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00744302007427   Professional Reviews Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.106) - "...A damn good LP..."    Related Videos In Search of Solid Ground... Draw The Line: David Gray