The Executioner's Last Songs [song album by the Pine...

The Executioner's Last Songs [song album by the Pine Valley Cosmonauts and guests] was assembled by an all-star cast, headed by a British expat, Jon Langford of the Mekons, to benefit the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project. It revels in its joyous presentment of 18 traditional tunes about criminal executions, while simultaneously aiming to help bring the practice to an end.
Steve Earle sings a spartan Tom Dooley, the Canadian country-rock chanteuse Neko Case offers a jaunty take on the murder ballad Poor Ellen Smith, and Dean Schlabowske of the Waco Brothers turns the Adverts' nihilistic punk classic Gary Gilmore's Eyes into a sprightly hoedown. Diane Izzo's chilling version of Ralph Stanley's Oh Death and the Handsome Family's comic description of the slaughter of The Knoxville Girl are both accommodated by Langford's broad brief. No other album offers more death penalty-related musical enjoyment.