The Executioner's Last Songs Vol 2 and 3 - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts

 

After getting volume one of this series from our buddy Rob and thoroughly diggin' it, I did a little research and discovered this 2-CD set of the next two volumes, which continues in the style and quality of the first one With co-stars galore, Jon Langford presents some fab interpretations of old school murder ballads and tales of violence and viciousness.

I've been trying to figure out a different arrangement of the traditional "Gallows Pole" and damn if Tim Rutili (and friends) don't do a terrific, bluesy take, stripping down Zep's version into a cool, slide number. Dave Alvin is in fine form with a country/bluegrass "Louis Collins" (there's not a lot of electric lead work on these albums, and Dave's terrific solos really stand out), Kurt Wagner does a kinda maudlin country ballad in "The Fall of Troy", while Otis Clay does a drastically different "Banks of the Ohio" than I've ever heard, making it an upbeat-ish, lightweight country/pop number instead of the heavily dramatic tune that I'm used to! Just like "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" on Volume One, there's a bluegrass-ish version of 999's "Homicide" by Skid Marks, then we get Kelly Hogan sweetly singin' "Green Green Grass of Home", followed appropriately by Rico Bell's bouncy jump-bluegrass of "Death Row", and then, kinda inappropriately, by the Gogol Bordello-like "Gulag Blues" from Lu Edmonds! Chris Mills is aided by Dave Alvin and Dean Schlabowske for the strongly melodic country ballad, "Horses", Diane Izzo and John Rice bravely take on "Strange Fruit" but do it justice in an original arrangement, David Yow seems to have his tongue firmly in his cheek for "One Dyin' and a Buryin'", also kinda ballsy is Jon Langford doing a string-laden singalong of "Delilah", but the volume concludes on a more serious note with a beautiful reading of the old-country-across-the-waters "Willie O'Winsbury" by Charlotte Greig.

Volume 3 is also pretty varied, from Alejandro Esovedo, Jon and Dave Alvin takin' on "Bad News" to Rebecca Gates doing a fairly original "Ballad of Billy Joe", to a hick-ish "Dang Me" by Rhett Miller, to a solemn acoustic "Forever to Burn" done by Rex Hobarts followed by Pat Brennan doing a Tom Waits-ian lounge version of "Death Where Is Thy Sting"! Sally Timms and Edith Frost are pretty straight country on "Long Black Veil", "God's Eternal Love" is hauntingly sung by Mark Eitzel while Gurf Morlix's "Hangin' Me Tonight" is reminiscent of the Ricky Nelson's "Ramblin' Man", the Meat Purveyors do a fab, fairly trad bluegrass take on "John Hardy", although halfway through they move into supersonic speed, Jon Rauhouse does a dramatically heavy "Pardon This Coffin", and Kevin Coyne does a funkily acoustic "Savior". Dave Alvin reprises "Green Green Grass of Home" that Kelly Hogan did on Vol. 2 (with some of his excellent, classic lead guitar work), Tom Greenhalgh does a fine, stripped-down "Angel of Death" and the proceedings come to an end with the Sundowners pretty much duplicating the Kingston Trio's take on "Tom Dooley".

Truly terrific interpretations going on in this series, with a variety of "feels", from solemnly serious to pretty goofball, but all worth checkin' out. All volumes are highly recommended!