No musician ever applied a gentler touch to songs of murder, sex, and salvation than Mississippi John Hurt. The country bluesman enjoyed a career revival through the folk festival boom of the early 1960s, and his influence continues to ripple, as this varied and vital tribute attests. Produced by Peter Case (who teams with Dave Alvin on "Monday Morning Blues"), the album's renewal of classic Hurt extends from the deadpan double entendres of "Candy Man" delivered by Steve Earle and son Justin to Taj Mahal's trademark lilt on "My Creole Belle" to a surprisingly straightforward "Stagolee" by Beck. Amid a roster of luminaries ranging from fingerpicking acolytes Chris Smither and Bill Morrissey to Ben Harper, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, and Gillian Welch, the most radically disarming interpretation comes from Victoria Williams. Her breathless "Since I've Laid My Burden Down" sounds like a preschooler on helium, yet somehow taps into the subconscious of the song.