John McCutcheon - Joe Hill's Last Will (2015)

John McCutcheon, Joe Hill s Last Will: Leave it to folk artist extraordinaire John McCutcheon to beautifully revitalize the songs of Joe Hill, the Swedish labor immigrant whose work and songs for the Industrial Workers of the World inspired Woody Guthrie and countless others. In the hands of Mr. McCutcheon, these songs weep with the passion of laborers who battled to form unions after immigrating to the United States. The songs move from the feisty, fiddle-filled fighting song The Connaughtman s Rambles to Stung Right, an up-tempo workers battle cry. But the standout on this 13-track album must be Joe Hill s Last Will, one of the saddest yet most heartening songs in the folk canyon. Legend has it that Hill handed the song through the bars of his jail cell hours before his execution. Mr. McCutcheon is one of only a handful of contemporary musicians who could do Hill s work justice. The much-heralded folk singer, songwriter and internationally recognized multi-instrumentalist has spent his life musically crusading for political and social causes. In true folk spirit, he performs others songs as reverently as his originals. He last proved that in 2012 with the release of This Land: Woody Guthrie s America, which dusted off some of the folk icon s most compelling and unknown music. This latest album shows why Mr. McCutcheon is a folk hero in his own right. --Washington Times

Several months ago, RUST Magazine had the extreme pleasure of talking at length with John McCutcheon about his upcoming 37th album Joe Hill s Last Will, and it was fascinating. There are stories upon stories connecting here. On the one hand you have an artist with a lifelong passion for folk music, and on the other you have the centennial of the death of the one person who has possibly the most impact on what folk music is. Beyond the factual lineage of subsequent artists like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, what most interested us about this story was the personal motivation of John McCutcheon. Doing this album was possibly for him the completing motion of the circle of life. What makes the release of Joe Hill s Last Will even more significant is the personal investment John had in doing this album. It probably won t be a commercial success. But that s not the why behind the what. The why is the passion, the intellect and the perseverance of one artist to refresh, and re-introduce the works of a genius whose music is a part of who we are, and more importantly, this music is a part of who John is. Talking at length about the book which he still owns today, you cannot escape the feeling that this new album is his book and he s giving it to the world with the patient expectation that other young people will find inspiration in it just as he has. Joe Hill s Last Will is an essential album on many, many levels. It is the work of an artist with exceptional knowledge and dedication. It is also a faithful expression of music that has inspired millions of people for over a hundred years. By playing these venerable songs with the skills gathered over his own lifetime, John McCutcheon expresses the same wonder he had as a child, and he makes a definitive statement, both about himself and Joe Hill. The student has become the master here, and has come to the front of the class to teach a new generation. Whether you consider yourself a folk music fan or not, Joe Hill s Last Will is a fascinating album that will certainly enlighten, educate and entertain you. There s a story behind this album. More importantly there s an artist behind it that is doing more than making music, he s making a statement that matters to him perhaps more now than at any other time in his life. This is music made by both a seasoned musician and intellectual, just as it is music made by a 14 year old boy filled with wonder and curiosity. --Rust Magazine.