Free the West Memphis 3

1	The Truth / Steve Earle 2:21
2	Wrong and Important / Rocket from the Crypt 3:34
3	Boys in Black / L7 3:09
4	Heavy Heart / Supersuckers 3:29
5	The Harder They Come / Tippa Irie 3:50
6	Rains on Me / Tom Waits 3:20
7	Poor Girl / Supersuckers 2:44
8	Indicted / Franz Stahl 3:37
9	Wraithchild / Zeke 2:42
10	Fucking Hostile / Kelley Deal 3:03
11	Hwy 5 / John Doe Thing 2:50
12	Untitled Lullaby / Mark Lanegan 3:02
13	She / Murder City Devils 1:31
14	Highway to Hell / Nashville Pussy 3:25
15	Our Last Goodbye / Killing Joke 5:18

Barnes & Noble

In 1993, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Miskelley Jr. were convicted of the ritualistic murders of three eight-year-olds in West Memphis, Arkansas. Since then, two HBO documentaries (Paradise Lost and Revelations) have convinced many, including the artists on this legal defense benefit compilation, that the three teens were guilty of nothing more than wearing black, reading Anne Rice, and listening to heavy metal. Joe Strummer's reading of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" (with backing from the Long Beach Dub All-Stars) and 1.7's rap-rock "Boys in Black" are the tracks most obviously inspired by the defendants' plight. Nashville Pussy, Zeke, and the Murder City Devils -- bands rarely associated with social consciousness -- contribute solid covers of punk/metal classics by AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and the Misfits, while ex-Breeder Kelley Deal offers a fun-house rendition of Pantera's "Fucking Hostile." The most powerful cuts are new originals by Steve Earle and Tom Waits, both in a twisted blues style similar to the latter's recent work. This isn't the most stylistically consistent compilation you'll ever hear, but the cause it supports can hardly be faulted by anyone with a sense of justice. Franklin Bruno

All Music Guide

A fine collection of mainly punk rock covers, with some extra variety sprinkled in. The album is a benefit for, as you might expect, the West Memphis Three. These are three guys incarcerated in the late '90s, either with life sentences or on death row. The details of their conviction are quite problematic, as both the liner notes and Jello Biafra spell out at the end of "Wrong and Important." The Killing Joke contribution adds some more information on capital punishment during their song. Tom Waits growls out a tune with his trusty spronky guitar, which is a highlight among the other interesting tracks. Most of the tracks are on the subject of capital punishment, but some of the cover choices (see Zeke's version of "Wrathchild" by Iron Maiden) seem to be positive support for the prisoners coming in a singular form. Jeremy Salmon