CD Odyssey Disc 1389: Steve Earle

I spent some of my free time going through Paste Magazine’s “Top 25 albums of 1980. It is fair to say I disagreed with a lot of the choices, but I did find five new albums that I hadn’t previously heard and really enjoyed. If you’re interested in finding some new music from forty years ago, these are worth your time:

• Prince, “Dirty Mind”
• Devo, “Freedom of Choice”
• Pylons, “Gyrate”
• The Cramps, “Songs the Lord Taught Us”

Disc 1389 is…. Ghosts of West Virginia

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2020

What’s up with the Cover? Welcome back, Tony Fitzpatrick. I did not miss you. This cover appears to be an homage to all the people lost in mining accidents in West Virginia. Which is an important and affecting topic. I only wish I wasn’t so profoundly uninspired by Fitzpatrick’s painting style.   

How I Came To Know It: There was a time when I would just buy Steve Earle albums as they came out, but I’ve become more wary in recent years. When this one came out I gave it a listen on Youtube first and realized it was time to rejoin the ranks of the believers.

How It Stacks Up: I have 16 studio albums by Steve Earle (not counting his collaborations, nor his homages to Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt). Of those 16, I put “Ghosts of West Virginia” at #10. Since this once again concludes my full Steve Earle collection, here’s an updated recap:

1. I Feel Alright: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 14)
2. Exit 0: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 423)
3. Guitar Town: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 616)
4. El Corazon:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 395)
5. Jerusalem: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1153)
6. Copperhead Road: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 398)
7. Train A Comin’:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 127)
8. The Revolution Starts Now: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 359)
9. Sidetracks: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 851)
10. Ghosts of West Virginia: 4 stars (reviewed right here)
11. I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 718)
12. The Low Highway: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 633)
13. The Hard Way: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 179)
14. Washington Square Serenade: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 226)
15. The Mountain: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 332)
16. Transcendental Blues: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 438)
17. Terraplane: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 980)

Ratings: 4 stars

“Ghosts of West Virginia” is Steve Earle’s best album in a decade. It is the kind of record I’ve been waiting on (sometimes impatiently) through underwhelming efforts like “Terraplane” and “So You Wanna Be An Outlaw”. With “Ghosts…” Earle reminds us that even if an aging artist doesn’t knock you off your feet every time, they still have a few good swings left in them, and you should keep giving them a chance to let one land.

Turns out all it took was a return to subject matter that never fails to inspire Earle; blue collar heroes struggling to carve out a life of honour for themselves and their families. In the case of “Ghosts of West Virginia,” it is about coal miners for the most part. Seven of the ten songs are about coal mining, and together form the bulk of the album. They are also featured in the stage play “Coal Country” about the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine that claimed the lives of 29 workers. If you think that having so many songs about a single topic (coal mining) would get tiresome, you’d be wrong. Instead you get a deep, multifaceted look at the lives and history of the people who work in some of the most dangerous conditions of any job in North America.

In delivering their stories, Earle draws on multiple influences he’s picked up over the years. The result is a mix of the manic rock-country vitriol Earle displayed on Jerusalem, sitting alongside the homespun mountain heartbreak of “The Mountain” (which Earle recorded alongside the Del McCoury bluegrass band. The two styles sit easily with one another, each complementing the other and adding to the record’s dynamics.

There’s no Del McCoury this time, but Earle is joined by the most recent incarnation of the Dukes, who are accomplished players equally adept at anger and tenderness, as the individual song demands. An extra shout-out to Eleanor Whitmore, who not only plays some energetic fiddle, but takes lead vocals on “If I Could See Your Face Again,” a song about a woman mourning the loss of her man that will be sure to put a coal-sized lump in your throat.

Sometimes Earle takes a wider lens, such as on “Union, God and Country” where he paints a picture of mining life through time, and sometimes he gets personal and visceral, as he does on “It’s About Blood” which ends with Earle naming the victims of the Upper Big Branch disaster.

My favourite song on the record is the last one. “The Mine” is a story anyone who has grown up in a resource town knows; the allure of the big money offered by a company job. In Earle’s version a young man is excited at the prospect of all the money he’s going to spend now that his brother has got him a position at the local mine:

“Well, my brother drives a brand new Ram truck with a hemi

And a satellite radio too

Well, I reckon, that’s the first thing I’m a gonna get me

And a baby blue Camaro for you.”

Hell, even I want that Camaro, but coming as the song does after songs about black lung, dead miners, lost jobs, and mourning widows you hear the narrator’s excitement with considerably more circumspection. The work is good, but it is also risky, and the song may sound relatively carefree on the surface, but Earle is clearly honouring the inherent bravery of the people who live a large part of their life down below it.

Best tracks: Union God and Country, Devil Put the Coal in the Ground, Time Is Never On Our Side, It’s About Blood, If I Could See Your Face Again, The Mine

CD Odyssey Disc 1386: Steve Earle

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey! This next album is one of the few I bought last year without hearing it first. When Guy Clark’s writing the songs, it’s an easy chance to take.

Disc 1386 is…. Guy

Artist: Steve Earle & the Dukes

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? Another cover by Tony Fitzpatrick. This one has a bird on it, which as we all know, makes all things better. In fact, this is one of the best covers Tony Fitzpatrick has done for Earle. This meant I disliked it a lot less than usual. Make no mistake, I still disliked it. I just disliked it less.  

How I Came To Know It: I had given up buying Steve Earle albums automatically a few years back, when I felt his quality began to slip. However, Earle won me back here by doing a cover album full of Guy Clark songs. I had loved “Townes,” Earle’s homage to Townes Van Zandt, and I was expecting great things here as a result.

How It Stacks Up: I don’t think an album full of cover songs should stack up against regular studio albums. It just seems wrong. If I were to just stack it up against “Townes” it comes in a distant second, though.

Ratings: 3 stars

Timing isn’t everything, but it does matter. Way back in 2009 when I reviewed “Townes” (Disc 28) I had never heard of Townes Van Zandt. I’d heard a couple of his songs along the way (“Pancho and Lefty” for example) but I had no idea it was his song. So Steve Earle’s introduction to his music was a revelation.

Fast forward ten years, and Earle does an album of Guy Clark songs, in honour of Guy’s death three years earlier. The difference is that this time I was well-acquainted with every one of them. This made me a lot more critical of Earle’s interpretations. Sometimes he nails it, and sometimes I just hear the Clark original in the background and wished that it was on instead.

That said, “Guy” is a solid record. Like “Townes” it is hard to go wrong when your material comes from one of country music’s all-time great songwriters and Steve Earle’s love for his old friend and mentor is evident throughout.

The best tunes are the ones that suit Earle’s temperament to begin with. Guy and Steve are like your two favourite, but very different uncles. Guy Clark is the uncle that grills up a mean hamburger at the family cookout, tells you vaguely dirty jokes when your mom is still in earshot, and buys you a Swiss Army knife when you’re still a couple years too young to play with one safely.

Steve Earle is the uncle that argues politics with his brother-in-law, tells you stories about riding shotgun in a Humvee through Fallujah and how he once saw one man stab another man in the parking lot of a Tijuana whorehouse. Like I said, they’re both great uncles, just different.

I should note at this point that Townes Van Zandt is a third cool uncle but doesn’t feature in this comparison; he got drunk at home and missed the barbecue entirely. But I digress…

The point is that Earle is best doing Clark songs that are in his wheelhouse. That tends to be the darker stuff, or the sad romantic tunes. “Desperadoes Waiting for a Train” and “The Last Gunfighter Ballad” are both solid tunes about broken down anti-heroes. Earle elevates them and makes them pulse with heartache.

“That Old Time Feeling” takes full advantage of Earle’s classic southern drawl, and sways in just the right time to make you want to circle around the block if only to play it a second time. “Out in the Parking Lot” has Earle delving back into the country-rock of his Copperhead Road days, which works masterfully. Blasting out a nasty reverb guitar and singing about the grimy activity that happens late at night in parking lots, Earle takes owns every moment of this song.

When the songs really need Clark’s homespun happiness, Earle doesn’t deliver at the same level. “Dublin Blues” is a Guy Clark classic, but Earle’s version feels a bit rushed, and it takes away from the core of what makes the song great; regret and reminiscence.

On “The Ballad of Laverne and Captain Flint” and “New Cut Road” Earle and the Dukes decide to play loose and easy to create the down-home, rustic quality. It isn’t that they’re out of time – the playing is impeccable – but it is hard to match that easy, relaxed quality Guy Clark brought to certain songs. Also, Earle slurs a little in the interests of being organic, and I wasn’t digging it.

Finally, at 16 tracks and 60 minutes, the album is too long. I imagine it is pretty hard to cut tracks when you’re playing covers of one of your idols and closest friends, but that’s the task. Kill your darlings, Steve, or in this case, kill Guy’s.

The album ends on a high note, with a delightful rendition of “Old Friends” with Earle sharing the mic with a host of guest vocalists, including Terry Allen, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rodney Crowell, Jo Harvey Allen and Emmylou Harris. You can feel the love they all bring to the recently departed Clark, who left a lasting impression on many lives with his music, including mine. If Earle’s love-letter isn’t quite at the level he achieves on “Townes,” it doesn’t mean there is any less love to be had here, and yeah, “Old Friends” tore me up a little.

I miss you too, Guy.

Best tracks: Desperados Waiting for a Train, That Old Time Feeling, The Last Gunfighter Ballad, Out in the Parking Lot, Old Friends

CD Odyssey Disc 1153: Steve Earle

Greetings, gentle readers! I was away briefly while dealing with a musical crisis. I lost my Sony Walkman Tuesday night and had no portable music for a day. Not having headphones and looking…er…slightly different (as I do) can make you a magnet for fellow weirdos when you are out and about in the world. While some of those encounters were strangely pleasant, it still drove me to search for my Walkman with renewed enthusiasm. I it lying between my bed and nightstand. Crisis averted!

Disc 1153 is… Jerusalem

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover? More annoying art from perennial Earle cover artist Tony Fitzpatrick. I like this one more than most of his stuff, and the whole snake without a head design is a pretty cool idea, but I still wouldn’t decorate my house with it.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me buying the next Steve Earle album when it came out. I’m a fan.

How It Stacks Up:  I didn’t buy Steve Earle’s latest album “So You Wanna Be An Outlaw” (at least not yet) and I parted ways with “Terraplane” so I now have 15 Steve Earle albums. I put “Jerusalem” fifth, although really it is tied with “El Corazon” for fourth. It is one of Steve Earle’s greatest records. Since this is the final Earle review, here’s the full recap:

1. I Feel Alright: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 14)
2. Exit 0: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 423)
3. Guitar Town: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 616)
4. El Corazon:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 395)
5. Jerusalem: 4 stars (reviewed right here)
6. Copperhead Road: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 398)
7. Train A Comin’:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 127)
8. The Revolution Starts Now: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 359)
9. Sidetracks: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 851)
10. I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 718)
11. The Low Highway: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 633)
12. The Hard Way: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 179)
13. Washington Square Serenade: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 226)
14. The Mountain: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 332)
15. Transcendental Blues: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 438)
16. Terraplane: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 980)

I also have Townes, which is an album full of Townes Van Zandt covers. I love this record and gave it 4 stars, but it seemed weird to stack up against his original material. If I did, I’d probably put it at around #6 and bump everything else down one.

Ratings:  4 stars but close to 5

Throughout Steve Earle’s career he has sung about whatever the hell he pleases, in whatever style appeals to him. He’d already been at it for years when in 2002 he released “Jerusalem” and decided to go ahead and add a whole other level of pointy to his message, and to hell with how Middle America felt about it.

“Jerusalem” came out the year after a bunch of criminals crashed aircraft into the World Trade Centre, leaving America reeling. Musicians – American and otherwise – turned their talents to the tragedy in a lot of different ways. Sarah McLachlan expressed her anguish on “World on Fire,” (on “Afterglow” reviewed at Disc 857) and Bruce Springsteen released an entire album dedicated to the lives of the people affected when the towers fell on “The Rising” (reviewed back at Disc 751). Toby Keith imagined a Statue of Liberty that shakes her fist and plants her boot in the ass of America’s enemies. Toby Keith is such a moron.

Back to Steve Earle, who decided to take the opportunity to use the first half of “Jerusalem” to deliver a pointed and unapologetic critique of American society. With a nation still grieving it was an aggressive move that offended a lot of people, but it also inspired some of the best music in Earle’s long career.

The record starts with “Ashes to Ashes” a song about how every empire crumbles, including lines like “every tower ever built tumbles” just in case you weren’t clear on what empire he is referencing. “Amerika v.6.0 (The Best We Can Do)” points the finger at anyone who shrugs and decides to settle, or as Earle puts it:

“I remember when we was both out on the boulevard

Talkin’ revolution and singin’ the blues

Nowadays letters to the editor and cheatin’ on our taxes

Is the best we can do.”

These songs feature an aggressive style that matches the aggressive lyrics. The electric guitars fuzz out and at times Earle’s voice is distorted like you are hearing it through a megaphone, which makes sense given the protest feel of the tracks. When it isn’t fuzzed out, he slurs or shouts his lines with visceral anger and frustration. All this distortion creates a sense of unease which is exactly the intent.

The final song in this four song mini-set, “John Walker’s Blues” is from the perspective of American teen-turned Taliban terrorist John Walker Lindh, exploring with heartfelt sincerity how a good Catholic boy from California turns into a terrorist.

Following this final salvo Earle turns his mind to his more traditional topics for the rest of the record. “The Kind” is a pretty little tale filled with cowboys with achin’ hearts and pictures of girls with secret smiles. After all the doom and gloom and anger, “The Kind” is a palate cleanser. It is like Earle is reminding you, “Hey, I still see beauty. I’m not permanently broken, just angry.”

The rest of the record is Earle doing this more traditional fare – tales of low level drug dealers in over their heads (“What’s a Simple Man To Do?”), the prison system (“The Truth”), and hopeless romantic notions (“I Remember You”). The latter is a duet with Emmylou Harris and one of the great songs about ended relationships you will ever hear. Emmylou sounds as good here as she ever has. It was this song that drove me down the rabbit hole of her music collection and for that alone I owe “Jerusalem” a lot.

The record ends with the title track, and sees Earle reconciling on a number of levels. The style of “Jerusalem” matches the quiet and subtle style on the record’s second half, but returns to the themes of war and violence and doubt from the first.

This time Earle is conciliatory and filled with optimism. The distorted production is gone and as Earle’s harmonica announces the arrival of the melody you get the feeling that you’ve come through a storm to a clear day. In the song Earle wakes to the sound of the TV announcing war in the Middle East, and feels an initial hopelessness but then he recovers. The song ends with these hopeful lines:

“And there’ll be no barricades then

There’ll be no wires or walls

And we can wash all the blood from our hands

And all this hatred from our souls.

“And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham

Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem.”

Sadly, many people by this time would have tuned Earle out, no doubt preferring the visceral idiocy of Toby Keith or (hopefully) the gentler touch of McLachlan or Springsteen. The album “Jerusalem” resulted in Steve Earle being banned from most of mainstream country radio, which is a pretty sad indictment of free speech.

Not me. I’ve never agreed with everything Steve Earle says, but that should never be a prerequisite for great art. On “Jerusalem” Earle speaks from the depths a great and wounded heart, but it is also a heart with an amazing capacity for seeing the beauty in the world, and a willingness to forgive. It may at times be a journey through grief but it is a journey worth taking.

Best tracks: Amerika v.6.0 (The Best We Can Do), Conspiracy Theory, John Walker Lindh’s Blues, The Kind, I Remember You, Shadowland, Jerusalem

CD Odyssey Disc 980: Steve Earle

I’m a bit worn out after a hard week at work, but the weekend is here. It is even here early, since I’m off today! I am looking forward to recharging my batteries doing things I enjoy, starting with writing this blog entry. I only wish I had enjoyed the album more.

Disc 980 is…Terraplane

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2015

What’s up with the Cover? After all those Drive-By Trucker albums featuring killer art by Wes Freed I had almost forgotten that Steve Earle has been putting the horrible art of Tony Fitzpatrick on his covers for decades.

This cover features a Terraplane, which was a car made by the Hudson Motor Car Company from 1932 to 1938. Legendary bluesman Robert Johnson featured it in a song called “Terraplane Blues” in 1936 which may be the connection here.

It looks like after Fitzpatrick painted this one he left to go answer the phone and while he was gone his kids doodled all over it.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me buying Steve Earle’s latest album on faith. I’ve done that with this record and then again with 2016’s “Colvin & Earle” (reviewed back at Disc 921). Steve’s going to have to earn the next one.

How It Stacks Up:  Not counting Earle’s album of Townes Van Zandt covers (which is awesome, but hard to stack up) I have 16 Steve Earle albums. “Terraplane” comes in dead last at #16.

Ratings: 2 stars

Long-time readers will know I am a huge Steve Earle fan. I’ve seen him in concert four times and next time he comes to town, I will go again. It is rare that I have anything bad to say about him. I guess there is a time for everything.

After years of skirting multiple genres, “Terraplane” is primarily a blues album, and Earle’s love for the blues is evident throughout, as he plays around with most (if not all) of the various styles that make up the blues. I like the blues well enough, and I also like it when artists keep things interesting for themselves and – by extension – their audience. But it wasn’t the musical style of “Terraplane” that put me off. It wasn’t even Earle’s delivery or musicianship; he plays with heart and grit. I just didn’t like these songs all that much.

Earle plays with a grimy and raw quality that makes it feel somewhere between someone playing in a cheap dive bar and a street busker. I think this is what he was going for, but it just felt like one more bluesman, ambling his way around and hoping to pick up a few tips. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but as a devoted fan of Earle’s for over thirty years, I’ve come to expect better.

“Terraplane” is also a break up album, being written in the wake of his divorce from his seventh wife, singer/songwriter Allison Moorer. She also did a breakup album called “Down to Believing.” You can check out the title track here.

Sometimes a break up album can bring the best out of an artist, but “Terraplane” feels like an idle exploration of those feelings, more interested in exploring the blues than with internal exploration. It is there, but it feels like a junior partner. Songs like “You’re the Best Lover That I Ever Had” and “Baby’s Just as Mean as Me” both feel have catchy rhythms (few know how to build a song better than Earle), but I didn’t feel the heart behind them like I wanted to.

Musically the most interesting song is “Better Off Alone.” This track could’ve been great, and with those seven marriages under his belt Earle has miles of material to draw from. It also has Earle backing away from the blues and going back to his pocket of roots folk. Despite how much I want to like it, every time I hear this line:

“And though

I taught you everything you know

I learned a thing or two myself and so

I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone.”

I find it jarring. If this is just a character amalgamated from Earle’s various experiences, then the rest of this song’s ‘mea culpa’ feel fails when the singer suggests he was the only one teaching anything to his partner. If it is specifically about Moorer – a talent in her own right for some time – it’s just unfair. And lest you think that third line balances it all out, go read it again. The narrator learned some things, but he’s not indicating from whom – just as likely it is from himself. I know Earle is hurting – at his last show you could feel it bleeding off the stage – but as Kris Kristoffersen once said:

“Don't ever cuss that fiddle, boy

Unless you want that fiddle out of tune

That picker there in trouble, boy

Ain't nothin' but another side of you.”

Later on the record there are a couple of songs I enjoyed, including the old-timey “Gamblin’ Blues” and the more rock-driven “Go-Go Boots Are Back.” I was looking forward to doing a playlist of songs featuring go-go boots (with this one, plus Mudcrutch’s “Queen of the Go-Go Boots” and the Drive-By Truckers’ “Go-Go Boots”. That’s not likely to happen though, because for the first time in 30 years ever I find myself willing to part with a Steve Earle album.

Instead, I’m going to go check out Allison Moorer’s album and see how it holds up. In the face of tragedy, it seems only fair to give everyone equal time. That one song I linked to above is promising, and I’d like to hear more.

Best tracks: Go-Go Boots Are Back, Gamblin’ Blues

CD Odyssey Disc 921: Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle

Sheila was out for dinner tonight and I had to fend for myself. I’m not much of a cook and I could’ve had soup or canned ravioli but I gave in to temptation on the walk home and stopped for pizza instead. I regret nothing.

Disc 921 is….Colvin & Earle

Artist: Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle take a walk together. This is the most dressed up I’ve seen Steve Earle in a decade. Shawn must’ve called and reminded him it was picture day.

How I Came To Know It: I didn’t even know this album had happened until I saw it on the new arrivals shelf at a local music store. Steve Earle has rarely steered me wrong, so although I knew Shawn Colvin only in passing I decided to give it a shot.

How It Stacks Up:  I have no Shawn Colvin albums but many by Steve Earle. None of that is relevant here, as this is a one-off duet record, and so stands alone.

Ratings: 2 stars

As I noted earlier Steve Earle has rarely steered me wrong, but on “Colvin & Earle” I certainly didn’t feel steered right. This album isn’t bad, but I spent most of my multiple listens wishing it was better.

The record is a blend of Colvin and Earle’s respective folk styles, and they sing harmony on almost all of the tracks. The harmonies were so loose I found them discordant and distracting, however. It was so distracting I took to the internet to find out what those kind of harmonies are called so I could avoid them in future.

Apparently it is called “cross harmony” and the discordance is intentional. In an interview for the Guardian, Earle is quite proud of the fact that they happen “naturally” when he sings with Colvin. That may be so, but it wasn’t for me. If that means I’ve got an unrefined ear, so be it, but I like my harmonies to get along better. By the way, I’d link to the Guardian article but the writer claims the album has only two cover tracks on it and there are four. That’s just something you’ve gotta fact check, people. But I digress…

The tracks that are written by Colvin or Earle (or both) didn’t have the emotional oomph that I expect, at least from my experience with Earle’s songwriting. Also, while I could tell they were trying to do the album in a very traditional style the result was that a lot of the tracks feel stale. “Tell Moses” is full of religious metaphor but I couldn’t tell if they were paying homage or just trying the style on for size. The musical exercise didn’t translate to the album and made the whole song feel disingenuous.

As folk albums often do, the record has four covers (five if you count the Beatles song in the bonus tracks). Two of these (John Loudermilk’s blues-rock classic “Tobacco Road” and the sublime “Ruby Tuesday” by the Rolling Stones) had me wishing I could hear the originals instead. Colvin & Earle don’t do a bad version of either, but in converting them to a more traditional style the energy of the original didn’t translate. At least “Tobacco Road” has a more traditional tight harmony which was a welcome break from the “cross harmony” everywhere else.

The other two covers are very good, and are standouts on the album. Emmylou Harris’ “Raise the Dead” is excellent. When I first heard it I thought “this would sound great sung by Emmylou Harris!” which is how I found out it was her song. It is from a 1999 duet album with Linda Ronstadt called “Western Wall” which I am now looking for.

“You Were On My Mind” is a very pretty cover of an Ian and Sylvia Tyson song. Not only are Colvin & Earle up to the task, I think they give this song even more emotional impact than even the legendary Tysons managed. Kudos!

One original song really stood out as well. “The Way That We Do” has strong songwriting and it helps that Earle and Colvin take turns on the verses rather than trying to sing harmony at first. This strangely helps the discordant harmonies work better later on when they are introduced halfway through.

There are some pretty tracks on this album for sure, and it gets better as it goes along but not enough of it resonated with me, or it resonated in a way that didn’t feel comfortable. Despite this record being new to my collection, I must reluctantly bid it an early adieu and send it to a home where it will be better appreciated.

Best tracks: The Way That We Do, You Were On My Mind, Raise the Dead, That Don’t Worry Me Now

CD Odyssey Disc 851: Steve Earle

It is another beautiful day outside and I’m looking forward to taking the top down on my convertible. I am thinking of selling it soon, so every day in the sun is that much more precious.

Disc 851 is….Sidetracks

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover? Steve Earle keeps putting bad Tony Fitzpatrick art on his album covers and I keep panning it. I admire Steve’s tenacity more than he would admire mine. This is one of Fitzpatrick’s better efforts, but it is still not good.

How I Came To Know It: I just keep drilling through Steve Earle albums as they get released, and this one is no exception.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 17 Steve Earle albums, but I tend to not rank his album that consists only of Townes Van Zandt albums. I’m not sure why, since this next album is over fifty percent cover songs, but I guess there’s enough original content I figured it was fair. In any case, “Sidetracks” lands a respectable ninth out of the 16.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Sidetracks” is a collection of songs spanning a six or seven year span that were either written for movies or covers of other artists. Despite coming from different years the collection feels remarkably cohesive. Funny how good music just goes well with other good music.

Every artist that makes enough albums will eventually end up with a bunch of songs that for whatever reason didn’t make it onto on one of them. Often those songs are best left on the recording studio floor, but sometimes (such as Pearl Jam’s “Lost Dogs” or Tom Waits’ “Brawlers,Bawlers and Bastards”) there are great songs that deserve to be heard. “Sidetracks” is full of examples of those.

Five of the album’s 13 tracks are Earle originals, and despite the other eight being some of rock’s most iconic songs Earle’s work stands shoulder to shoulder with them. It is a testament to his exceptional songwriting talent and artistic vision.

With one exception (“Sara’s Angel,” an instrumental) the Earle tracks are songs recorded for movies. I’d heard of all four movies (“The Rookie,” Pay It Forward,” “The Horse Whisperer” and “Dead Man Walking”) but I’ve only seen one. This is just as well, because that would have had me associate the songs with movies that don’t appeal to me, providing a context outside of the music that isn’t necessary.

In fact, the best song on the record is “Me and the Eagle” which is a masterpiece of songwriting. The song soars up musically at the same time as you imagine the eagle sailing higher and higher into the mountains, and the narrator travels to those lonesome backcountry spaces where he is most at peace. Lyrics, melody, arrangement and theme all come together perfectly and when we hear Earle sing:

“When it’s all said and done, I usually find

Me and the eagle are of the same mind.”

We can hear the voice of a taciturn loner, settled on some mountain crag staring out at a west coast wilderness, content with his own company.

The other movie song that appealed was “Ellis Unit One.” Taken from “Dead Man Walking.” It is song opposing the death penalty. This is a topic that brings out the best in Earle (he wrote another masterpiece on the same topic, “Billy Austin,” for his 1990 album “The Hard Way,” reviewed way back at Disc 179).

Here he once again humanizes the issue, this time from the perspective of a guard that has spent a career taking prisoners down the hall to their death, first to the electric chair and later to lethal injection. “Billy Austin” captures the terror of the prisoner, and “Ellis Unit One” bravely explores the emotional toll on those that carry out the sentence. The song ends with:

"Well, I've seen 'em fight like lions, boys

I've seen 'em go like lambs

And I've helped to drag 'em when they could not stand

And I've heard their mamas cryin' when they heard that big door slam

And I've seen the victim's family holdin' hands

"Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest

And something cold and black pullin' through my lungs

'N even Jesus couldn't save me though I know he did his best

But he don't live on Ellis Unit One"

As a treatise against the death penalty, “Ellis Unit One” is a hell of a lot more effective than the movie “Dead Man Walking” which I found heavy handed and preachy. Earle manages to deliver a harder emotional gut punch than Tim Robbins’ film can manage over two hours.

In terms of the covers, Earle covers a lot of ground. He does “Johnny Too Bad” and manages to seamlessly marry his own style with the Jamaican rhythms of the Slickers original. He takes on Nirvana’s “Breed” and gives it so much raw rock power that I ended up preferring it over the original.

The Flying Burrito Brothers’ war protest song “My Uncle” and the back-road trucker whimsy of Little Feat’s “Willin’” are both perfect for Earle’s iconoclastic troubadour aesthetic and he doesn’t disappoint.

The Chamber Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today” is buoyed by great guest vocals from Sheryl Crow, but pulled down by having to listen to Abby Hoffman’s shrill complaints of yesteryear. “Creepy Jackalope Eye” is well performed, but I don’t like the Supersuckers’ song to begin with, so I could have lived without that one.

For all that, this record is a great example of how some artists are so good that their table scraps are better than what most people make the lead track on their record. Earle is a master of his craft, whether creating stories of his own, or reinterpreting someone else in his own inimitable style.

Best tracks:  Open Your Window, Me and the Eagle, Johnny Too Bad, Breed, Ellis Unit One, Willin’, My Uncle

CD Odyssey Disc 718: Steve Earle

Another long day is over and I’m looking forward to an uneventful evening. I think I’m in the mood for a movie, or maybe just some American Idol. What can I say…guilty pleasure.

Disc 718 is…. I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2011

What’s up with the Cover? More bad art from Tony Fitzpatrick. This one is better than most of his stuff. I even bought the tour shirt featuring the ‘eye-star’ thing in the middle. Sheila hates that shirt and I’ve got to admit that based on how little I wear it I’m not that keen either.

How I Came To Know It: I’m an avowed Steve Earle fan. When he comes to town, I go see him and when he puts out a new record I buy it. With the buying of the ugly tour shirt, I scored the hat trick for this album.

How It Stacks Up:  I have a whole lot of Steve Earle. 18 albums, including an album of Townes Van Zandt covers and a live album featuring Townes and Guy Clark. Let’s exclude those and stack it up against the 16 regular studio albums. I’ve reviewed all but three of these, so I should have a pretty good idea…

Then why is this so damned hard? I’ll go with…10^th. This will bump 2013’s “The Low Highway” down one spot from where I first put it, but they’re pretty close to each other so it might just depend on the day. Today, “World” finishes ahead in the top 10.

Rating: 3 stars

Steve Earle just put out a new album – “Terraplane” – and his broken heart shows through pretty raw on it. I think I prefer Steve as he is on “I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive”; deeply in love with partner Allison Moorer and feeling his rootsy soul emerging like a spring flower.

There are a couple of touching love songs on “World.” One is sung with Moorer (“Heaven or Hell”) and one that is clearly sung to her (“Every Part of Me”). Both are pretty, but “Every Part of Me” is one of the better Valentine’s cards Steve has made for his girlfriends over the years. As ever, Earle is convinced this is going to be ‘the one’ and pours his heart and soul into this song with absolute conviction, with lines like:

“I can’t promise anything

Except that my last breath will bear your name.”

It’s not going to happen now, but what a beautiful notion for his art to capture in amber.

For all of these songs, my favourite love song is the very traditional sounding “Molly-O.” This song feels like it spilled right out of 19^th century America or Ireland, but it is brand new Steve Earle. This love song is about a man who robs and kills to gather wealth for a girl he is infatuated with, but never wins her over. Even though our lovestruck hero knows he is being used and will one day answer for his crimes, he is unrepentant. As he points out:

“Men have died for lesser things

Vengeance, country, god and king

Someday I’ll swing from the gallow’s pole

A final dance for my Molly-O.”

This being Steve Earle, there is also lots of social commentary, including one of my favourite songs, “The Gulf of Mexico.” “Gulf of Mexico” is about the horrific oil spill that occurred there, as told through the eyes of three generations of gulf coasters. Grandpa was a shrimp fisherman, dad converted the boat to a crew boat to the rigs and the narrator himself is a ruff-neck working the rigs when the accident happens. In three beautiful stanzas, Earle sums up the changing economy of the Gulf of Mexico and the terrible damage the oil spill wreaks on that living history.

The characters in “Gulf of Mexico” are not perfect; they’re just rough and regular blue collar type folks, earning their living off the sea. By personalizing the experience, Earle’s tale is that much more visceral to the listener. This is a five star song.

There are plenty of other good ones on “World.” “God is God” is an inspirational which somehow sings about a higher power without ever feeling preachy. “Lonely Are the Free,” is an homage to uncompromising folks that stand tall in the face of injustice, and never cry out at any indignities they might suffer as a result.

“World” has a laid back feel, and Steve has really cut back on the extra production on his previous record, “Washington Square Serenade.” Earle’s ability to update old American folk for a modern audience is on full display. These songs feel like they’ve been around for forty years, not four.

As an aside, Earle wrote a book also titled “I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive” around the same time. It tells the story of a heroin-addicted former doctor who is haunted by the ghost of Hank Williams. It is an odd book, but a good one, and proof that Earle’s talent for story writing doesn’t stop when he unstraps the guitar.

Best tracks: Waitin’ On the Sky, The Gulf of Mexico, Molly-O, God Is God, Lonely Are the Free

CD Odyssey Disc 646: Various Artists

I’ve bought a lot of music lately (more than usual) and along the way discovered a few new (to me) bands I highly recommend. This week’s love affair is with Imelda May, an Irish rockabilly artist who is as talented as she is beautiful. I’ve been listening to her 2010 “Mayhem” album every day this week – often twice a day.

That’s this week’s recommendation, although not this week’s review. The review, as ever, was determined randomly because damn it that’s just more fun.

Disc 646 is….Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons

Artist: Various

Year of Release: 1999

What’s up with the Cover? It’s Gram Parson’s suit or at least an artistic rendition of it. Gram used to wear a white rockabilly suit that looked like this.

Here is Gram in happier times wearing the jacket the cover is based on. Way to rock the ladies on your lapels, Gram. Where the hell is that detail on the cover?

How I Came To Know It: I was looking for some Gram Parsons one day and the record store dudes cleverly had this stored in his section. When I saw that not only was Parsons stalwart Emmylou Harris featured, but also Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and a whole bunch of my other favourite artists, I bought it without hesitation.

How It Stacks Up:  While it isn’t exactly a best of, as a collection of covers it can’t really stack up against Gram Parsons doing his own stuff.

Rating:  This is also a bit of a gray area. It isn’t a ‘best of’ per se, so I’ve decided to go ahead and give it a grade. That grade is…3 stars, but almost 4

Every now and then a rare artist comes along who just has a knack for writing great songs. Gram Parsons was one of those, and his untimely death in 1973 denied us of his talent all too early. Fortunately he wrote a bunch of tracks before he was gone, and on “Return of the Grievous Angel” a bunch of fairly well known artists pay tribute to him.

If you are going to do a tribute record of a songwriter of Gram Parson’s stature you better get artists with sufficient presence and ability to do his memory proud. “Return” has a pretty impressive lineup that includes the Cowboy Junkies, Beck, Steve Earle, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Wilco and of course Parson collaborator and confidante Emmylou Harris.

Their work – and that of the other artists on the album – is strong, and while I don’t really care for the Cowboy Junkies treatment of “Ooh Las Vegas” it was at least the most innovative. I similarly didn’t like Elvis Costello trying to add his jazzy flavour to “Sleepless Nights.” Costello sings it as earnestly as he can and you can tell the love is there, but he’s just not suited for this kind of music, despite how much he wants to be.

For the most part, the artists do Parsons ‘straight up’ with very similar arrangements and treatments as he originally used. They are all very good (it is hard to screw up a Gram Parsons song) but in some places I found myself preferring the original. In the case of Beck and Emmylou’s duet on “Sin City” not only prefer the original Flying Burrito Brothers version, but the Emmylou solo version from 1975’s “Elite Hotel” as well.

There are more than a few standouts. Emmylou gets Gram Parsons like few do, and her gentle treatment of “She” alongside Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders is a great way to start the record. On “Juanita” her background vocals elevate Sheryl Crow beautifully as well and make a song I often gloss over in Parson’s collection standout even more.

Evan Dando and Julianna Hatfield do a great version of “$1,000 Wedding” which has some pretty guitar work, and although I’ve not always been a Whiskeytown fan, their version of “A Song For You” has the perfect mix of desperation and energy the song calls for.

I would have preferred Steve Earle sing “High Fashion Queen” solo, as Chris Hillman’s voice is just too forgettable taking alternating verses. Fortunately David Crosby wisely takes a back seat on his duet of “Return of the Grievous Angel” with Lucinda Williams. Williams is just as much a tortured genius as Parsons and her angst and sandpapery voice add a whole new level to the song.

I would have liked the album to end with Gillian Welch’s treatment of “Hickory Wind” which has a threadbare arrangement that lets her pure bluegrass vocals cut through like the warm summer wind she sings about. I couldn’t imagine a better end.

That is, until we hear the Rolling Creekdippers sing “In My Hour of Darkness.” This song closes a Gram Parson’s collection as fittingly as Tennyson compilations always end with “Crossing the Bar.” In “Crossing the Bar” the poet imagines a heavenly journey ahead, whereas Parsons’ lyrics see only the darkness and unknown. It is the right way to end a tribute album for someone who left us too soon.

“In My Hour of Darkness” is a song about loss on a record that not only makes you contemplate the great artistic loss of Gram parsons, but also those who are gone from our own lives. It is gracefully delivered and deeply affecting but as I sat listening to the Rolling Creekdippers sing it, there was a small part of me that couldn’t help but want to hear Gram’s voice instead. For that reason, I’ll hold this review to three stars by the narrowest of margins.

Best tracks:   She, $1000 Wedding, Juanita, Return of the Grievous Angel, A Song For You, Hickory Wind, In My Hour of Darkness

CD Odyssey Disc 633: Steve Earle

As is my tradition on A Creative Maelstrom, when I go and see a concert I will usually review the new release of the album the tour is supporting. I’ve seen this next artist on his last four tours but that particular rule didn’t exist for the first three so this is the first time I’m getting a chance to invoke it for him.

Disc 633 is…. The Low Highway

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 2013

What’s up with the Cover? Not content with one of Tony Fitzpatrick’s paintings, Earle has opted to go with four of them.  Since Fitzpatrick’s paintings aren’t my bag, featuring four of them instead of one is not what I’d call progress. They were also featured on the tour shirt, so I had to forgo that as well.

How I Came To Know It:  I’ve known Steve Earle since his very first record back in 1986. This was just me buying his latest offering, as I always do.

How It Stacks Up:  This album was new and I had to do some reconsidering of previous albums to figure out just where it fits. I could go on about how I like all of Steve Earle’s albums for different reasons, but what the hell – let’s just make the call. Of the last three Steve Earle records, I’d say “The Low Highway” is the best of the bunch. I’ll put it 10^th best out of his 15 studio albums (excluding “Townes”, which is all cover songs). This bumps 1990’s “The Hard Way” down to 11.

Rating:  3 stars

From the opening notes of “The Low Highway” you know it is going to take a slow meandering path into your heart, just like Steve Earle criss-crosses North America bringing audiences whatever his genius has dreamed up recently.

The album opens with the title track, another excellent road song from a man who long ago perfected the art form. The tune has the nice easy pace of a tour bus, and you might expect it to be about nothing more than scenery passing by. Instead, Earle infuses the experience with a social commentary about what he sees across America:

Travelin’ out on the low highway

Three thousand miles to the Frisco bay

‘Cross the rivers wild and the lonesome plains

Up the coast and down and back again

Saw empty houses on dead end streets

People linin’ up for something to eat

And the ghost of America watchin’ me

Through the broken windows of the factories

Naked bones of a better day

As I rolled on down the low highway.”

For Earle the passing scenery of America, with all its grandeur and scale, is nothing without the people in it. Almost forty years into his career, he has delivered another masterpiece to help us see the underbelly of the American dream.

This theme asserts itself throughout the album, notably on “Invisible” another low-key rumble tackling the issue of homelessness.

My personal favourite on the album is “Burnin’ It Down” a song told from the perspective of an arsonist musing about burning down a Wal-Mart before it wrecks his small town. I’ve only been to Wal-Mart once, and I watched in mild horror as people wandered trance-like up and down the aisles loading plastic carts with cheaply made junk they didn’t need. That said, if you want to defeat Wal-Mart it is as easy as making the decision to shop local instead – no burning necessary.

The album sticks with this loose theme of what Earle calls the “Low Highway” off the top. Here you’ll find the forgotten and marginalized folks just scratching out a living as best they can. The album lacks a little in painting specific characters to write these larger tales, but it makes up for it with sparse, small arrangements that keep the record intimate to their struggle.

Earle’s love of New Orleans (partly rekindles through his involvement on the TV show “Treme”) is evident again on this album. “After Mardi Gras” directly reference the city, and “Love’s Gonna Blow My Way” and “Pocket Full of Rain” have a heavy New Orleans feel to them. “Pocket Full of Rain” is also Earle’s first serious foray into playing piano.  Like his efforts on the banjo, it isn’t nearly at the level of his guitar playing, but he plays with heart, and you have to admire his willingness to put himself out there and learn new instruments, and how they impact songs.

As I noted earlier, social commentary is a big part of “The Low Highway” and while it can seem grim, the record shows Earle’s growing optimism with the world. My favourite song for this is “21^st Century Blues” a rock/country cross over that starts out listing all the things that we didn’t get (colonies in space, flying cars, transporters) and then gets into the broken dreams of what we thought the decade would bring, but for Earle has fallen short.

However, by the end Earle turns the disappointment on its head, basically noting that this century is just like any other, capable of being whatever we make it:

“We stand now on the verge of history

The world can be anything we want it to be

Where there’s a will there’s a way where there’s a fire there’s a spark

Out in the streets downtown in the park

Maybe the future’s just waitin’ on you and me

In the 21^st century.”

Fittingly, the record ends with “Remember Me” about Earle’s newest child, and his leaving some advice behind in the hopes it will help when he’s gone. The song serves as a bookend to “Little Rock and Roller” a song about his first child off 1986’s “Guitar Town” a song about a father on the road and missing his son. “Remember Me” holds the more poignant viewpoint of an aging father who will miss a large part of his young child’s life. Yet for all that “Remember Me” is a reminder that for all his dark and dystopian views of the present, Earle is at his core an optimist – ready to leave the world to a new generation in the hopes they’ll make it better.

Best tracks:   The Low Highway, Burnin’ It Down, Invisible, 21^st Century Blues, Remember Me

The Concert – June 24, 2014 at the McPherson Theatre, Victoria

I’ve seen Steve Earle’s last four trips to Victoria, and I’ve never been disappointed. Despite a rocky start, he delivered a quality show once again last night.

Earle always brings it hard, and he always earns his pay, whether he is cranking it up with the help of a DJ (the “Washington Square Serenade” show in 2008), is a one-man guitar act (the “Townes” tour in 2009) or a full helping of Dukes and Duchesses backing him (2011’s “I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive”).

This tour was about mid-way between, with two old hands (bassist and original Duke Kelley Looney and long-time drummer Will Rigby) and a couple of new additions (fiddler Eleanor Whitmore and guitarist Chris Masterson). Notably absent was Earle’s wife Allison Moorer, as they’ve recently split.

This show was at the McPherson Theatre. Like the Royal Theatre, the McPherson is an old playhouse, although it lacks the former’s charm and inspiring architecture. It does share the Royal’s legacy of having been built for non-amplified sound, and as a result it needs a delicate touch on the soundboard.

Unfortunately, the opening salvo of the show did not benefit from such a soft touch. The opening track, “Low Highway” is a mostly acoustic number, and it came off alright, but when Earle plugged in for rockin’ numbers like “Hard Core Troubadour,” “Calico County” and “21^st Century Blues” it was a garble of distorted sound. This particularly bugged me on “21^st Century Blues” because I love that song so much.

Fortunately after a bit of stink eye from the musicians on stage and a bit of yelling from a woman seated to my left, the sound engineer got the message, and things quickly improved. The McPherson will never be as graceful on the ears as the Royal, but they managed to wrestle things into pretty good shape within 20 minutes.

The show had a bit of a harder edge than previous Earle concerts, and Moorer’s absence was notable. I felt bad for Earle, who was clearly heartbroken singing tearjerkers like “I Thought You Should Know” and “My Old Friend the Blues” but willing to put it out there and let us feel it with him.

One of the great things about going to a Steve Earle show is the ever-changing set-list, and this was no exception. The majority of the new album made it on (although not my favourite song – “Burnin’ It Down” – c’mon, Steve!) and I liked hearing these tracks.

Earle did little mini-sets of songs based on common themes. There was a Civil War stretch (“Ben McCulluch” and “Dixieland”) a New Orleans section, and my favourite – an “I’ve gotta get outta this town!” list with “Someday,” “Down the Road” and “Guitar Town.” Earle also played “Copperhead Road” but he seemed disinterested in it, and it might be time to retire this chestnut for a few years while he reinvigorates his interest.

The first of Earle’s two encores had a fun collection of covers, including Ian Tyson’s “Summer Wages” and a Levon Helm song I couldn’t name. Notably missing was the sing-a-long favourite “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” but Earle has done that enough times now that I was OK with it getting a rest for a while (see “Copperhead Road” comment above). The second encore delivered a kick-ass version of the Trogg’s “Wild Thing” instead, and was just as fun.

Driven in part by Masterson’s amazing guitar work, the show had a stronger rock edge than Earle has had in concert in recent years, and when things did lighten up we were treated to Whitmore’s amazing fiddle – which to my ear had a distinctive East Coast flavour.

Whitmore and Masterson also form a folk duo called “The Mastersons” which was the opening act. They were very good and I’ll be getting one or both of their discs soon (trying to cool it after some large CD purchases of late).

In addition to performing well, the Mastersons were delightfully frank about how they would bad mouth any town that didn’t give them some love at the Merch table and Chris Masterson possessed a potty mouth that rivals my own. As a band, they write good songs that fall somewhere between Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris and the Rankin Family. I didn’t buy their record that night but I will soon.

This wasn’t the best show I’ve ever seen Earle play, but would I go next time Earle comes to town based on it? You’re damned right I would.

CD Odyssey Disc 616: Steve Earle

Synchronicity amazes me sometimes. I haven’t rolled an album by Steve Earle on the Odyssey since September 2012, but on the same day I purchase tickets to go see  him in concert I came home and rolled this next album. 

Disc 616 is…. Guitar Town

Artist: Steve Earle

Year of Release: 1986

What’s up with the Cover? Wow, there was a time when Steve Earle did not look like a hobo. He looks a little apprehensive as well, probably thinking that while the miles lay long behind him, he has still got miles to go.  Don’t we all, Steve.

How I Came To Know It:  I think my Mom or my Stepdad Lawrence owned this album. They didn’t put it on that often, but I really liked it, and played it all the time.

How It Stacks Up:  I have 17 Steve Earle albums, but one is a live album and one is an album of cover songs, so I’ll stack this up against the remaining 15. I’ll put it third best, right behind “Exit O” (reviewed back at Disc 423) and “I Feel Alright” (reviewed way back at Disc 14). I originally had it tied for second with “Exit 0” but I’ve gotta put it just a hair short.

Rating:  5 stars

The Nashville establishment would have been very happy if Steve Earle’s sound had never evolved beyond what he does on “Guitar Town,” his 1986 debut. Instead, over the next almost thirty years, Earle has dabbled in rock, bluegrass, roots music and written folk songs protesting about most things the Nashville establishment think are laudatory. Unlike the Nashville establishment, I’ve enjoyed every twist and turn of Earle’s musical journey, but I will still agree with them about “Guitar Town’s” brilliance.

“Guitar Town” is a subtle blend of very traditional Hank Williams type traditional country with a twist of heartland rock ballad that Bruce Springsteen would be proud of. The songs are sparsely arranged, and for the most part rely on basic guitar picking and strumming and Earle’s heartfelt vocals.

Earle is a strong guitar player, and his band – the Dukes – is polished and skillful (and sadly not credited on the cover). While Earle’s voice isn’t going to win any singing competitions, he writes songs that play to his strengths and he sings them with a conviction that is second to none.

The album is exceptionally mature for a debut, which isn’t that surprising given that Earle was already 31 years old when it was released. He had already been kicking around various music scenes, learning from fellow greats Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, and his songwriting craft was well developed by the time the soulless record execs finally gave him a shot.

Lyrically, this record speaks deeply to me, partly because it has been in my life so long (since its release), partly because it reminds me of what it is like to live in a small town with dreams of getting out. Mostly it speaks deeply to me because it is so damned good.

Earle writes what he knows, with songs like “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller”, “Hillbilly Highway” and “Guitar Town” about the life of the travelling troubadour. “Guitar Town” in particular is a masterpiece of a song, with its simple, but instantly recognizable guitar strum and boundless energy.

The enthusiasm for this lifestyle is poignantly countered by the stories of those who haven’t yet found an opportunity to follow their dreams. “Someday” is the finest of these, beginning:

“There ain’t a lot you can do in this town

You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around

You go to school and you learn to read and write

So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life.”

While the song later evokes images of small-town Texas (filling stations on the interstate, and the dreams of getting a football scholarship) those opening lines could be any tiny town in North America, including the one I’m from. I have literally driven down to the lake and then turned back around, just to have something to do.

Relationship troubles also feature throughout the record, including the grim finality of “Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left to Say” and the quiet resignation of “My Old Friend the Blues” but Earle is at his core, an optimist. For all the broken hearts and broken dreams that “Guitar Town” presents us, most of the songs present us with the hope for a brighter tomorrow. The final stanza of the final song on the album, “Down the Road” puts the responsibility for seizing that brighter tomorrow squarely in his listener’s hands:

“Though the miles lay long behind you

You have still got miles to go

How’s love ever gonna find you

If it ain’t here it’s down the road.

Keep on lookin’ down the road.”

The album came out the same year as Dwight Yoakam’s debut “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc.” and it has some of the same rockin’ twang. I recall at the time they were often lumped together by a lot music reviewers at the time. While I like Yoakam’s music, “Guitar Town” has an emotional weight to it that puts it a cut above not only similar offerings at the time, but most of what has come since. I’ve seen Earle in concert multiple times in the last ten years. Songs from “Guitar Town” still make it into his ever-changing set list, and still sound as fresh and compelling as they ever have.

Best tracks:   All the tracks are good, and while I don’t personally like “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller” it is a good song by objective standards.