mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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copperhead road train a comin' el corazon the mountain transcendental blues jerusalem just an american boy the revolution starts now
Copperhead Road Compared to his 90’s album, Copperhead Road is way behind. Earle is focusing on lightweight rock and roll with a slight country influence, in a John Fogerty-ish way, but lacking the instant catchiness and directness that the Creedence-leaders best songs possesses. If I am allowed to be a bit harsh, it is only the title track that is memorable. On the other hand, “Copperhead Road” ranks among the best songs he ever did, so that is not saying much. The general impression from this album is that the band is a bit tighter and slicker than it has to be. Obviously a tight band is always enjoyable, but when it gets too tight, it gets stiff and eventually boring (this is a brilliant opportunity to say something nasty about The Eagles). You got to allow the band to swing loose instead of following the sheet music too straight. Earle’s songwriting isn’t exactly at its peak here, but still enjoyable enough to make up for the sometimes over clean performance. Besides “Copperhead Road”, “Snake Oil” moves pretty well, “The Devils Right Hand” comes off as a highlight, and the Irish folk music influence in “Johnny Come Lately” is pure fun and the band sounds rather inspired. It is nothing but mindless fun, but we can’t listen to warnings about the judgement day and relationships gone bad every day, right? Whilst Earle manages to deliver some decent party music for your local cowboy beer party, he fails to move the listener on a deeper and profound level. “Even When I’m Blue” tries to be emotional and personal but becomes just another song in the set. “You Belong To Me” is a not very successful stab at Bo Diddley rhythms and “Waitin’ On You” suffers from typical 80’s production. The closing, low-keyed “Nothing But A Child” is pretty, but the lyrics holds more than a simple love story. Either it is a very religious song, but could also be considered as Earle’s input in the abortion-debate. Maybe both. I won’t get into any big religious, moral or politic argument here, but what prevents the song from becoming a true highlight is that it was recorded during this period. If it had been recorded some years later it probably have been more breathing and alive. Anyway, Copperhead Road has it numbers of weaknesses and you should not consider getting it until you have his much better and more even albums released in 1995 and later. If you think you need the title track, I suggest you get the live album Just An American Boy instead for this.
Train A Comin’ When Steve Earle first made a name for himself, he landed somewhere between a sterile rocking Bruce Springsteen and John Mellancamp. Easy to listen to, but not very honest. On Train A Comin’ the true Steve Earle shines through, maybe for the first time. Relying heavily on acoustic instruments to create some sort of folk/blues/country-music Steve Earle is clearly a lot more confident and comfortable in this environment compared to his previous, stiffer recordings. Of course, whilst the new direction probably helps, one should remember that this is Earle’s first album in five years, and probably his first ever without any dope or alcohol in his body after some rehab treatment. A lot of his relationships had gone bad (he’s been married six times) and this is reflected in a lot of the lyrics. “Goodbye” is one of his most tender ballads and it tells the story of an relationship he hardly remember at all because of his drug abuse. Filled with regret and shame he delivers the simple, but very direct line ‘can’t remember if we said goodbye’. A lot of these slower numbers are extremely affecting and heartbreaking, but the album is far from a mourning record. More than half of the songs are faster and a lot of fun, even if not quite as well constructed as on The Mountain. The album closes with a few covers (including “I’m Looking Through You” by the world’s most infamous songwriting team) and Emmylou Harris is guesting on a couple of songs, providing nice backing vocals. Probably a very healthy and important record for Earle that he needed to get off of his chest. Clearly a turning point since all records that followed all were of high quality.
El Corazon Combining the newly found bluessgrass influences with the rock songs of his earliest albums, Steve Earle brings us El Carazon. An album that basically sums up what Earle is all about. The social conscience of “Christmas In Washington” (which has very little to do with Christmas), the early rocking days is represented by melodically strong “Taneytown” and the bluegrass and country of Train A Comin’ is highly evident in “I Still Carry You Around”. However, as much as I like all these different personalities and sides of Steve Earle, my favorite is when he puts his heart on a sleeve and becomes the heartbroken and miserable man. Songwriters that embrace that worn style usually end up as walking clichées, but whilst Earle doesn’t say anything that hasn’t been said before he says it damn good. “Poison Lovers” is built around a utterly beautiful melody and features Emmylou Harris on vocals. I do feel a tad restricted towards the rockier side of Steve Earle, especially the stuff he did in the beginning of his career, but here, some ten years later, the songs has gained edge and bite. It’s only the nearly Green Day sounding “Here I Am” that is off turning. “Taneytown”, “N.Y.C.” and “If You Fall” all work very well within the contect of the album, even if I wish Earle would have focused more introspective and intimate material. “Christmas In Washington”, “Poison Lovers” and “Ft. Worth Blues” stands out as the album’s most obvious highlights, even if the other tracks aren’t that far behind. Very strong release from Steve Earle and I guess we’ll just have to get used to it from now on.
The Mountain The Mountain shows Earle’s love for traditional American music. Together with the Del McCoury Band he puts on a great bluegrass performance, not only filled with energy and joy, but also passion and love that cannot be mistaken. Often when people do these kind of albums they end up sounding forced and happy to step already walked ground. The artist is happy with cliches and the result is often an admirable effort, but generic, the same. That’s not the case here, obviously. With banjos, mandolins and violins the ensemble moves from slow ballads to up tempo songs with ease. Often with a slight touch of blues or country, Earle’s vocals fit the acoustic music incredibly well. Usually I stay away from this kind of music, because it often seems like the artists are parodying themselves. Now, Earle makes something special, honest and earnest with his musical legacy, and as the album is closing with "Pilgrim" I’m left speechless and stunned. The two instrumentals here may not be too exciting and easily are the two weakest numbers here. They are passable, though. The album reaches great hights with a couple of slow songs. The title track delivers something that affects something deep inside. Same thing with "Long, Lonesome Highway Blues" and already mentioned "Pilgrim". The faster "Leroy's Dustbowl Blues", "Harlan Man" and "The Graveyard Shift" also ranks among the album's finest moments. They have a steady beat and Earle's voice is in the centre. The way he phrases and delivers the lyrics is very impressive. People who enjoyed the O Brother, Where Art Thou?-soudtrack, and especially "Man of Constant Sorrow", will get a kick out of this. Steve Earle's finest moment.
Transcendental Blues Trancendental Blues follows the same pattern as El Corazon, if leaning a bit more on the heavier side this time. That is probably just a natural reaction on the bluegrass album The Mountain released previous year. Something that is different about the rock songs here is that they have thoughtful, confessing lyrics just in the same way as his ballads. The rockers have simple, but yet strong melodies as well which instantly makes Trancendental Blues a winner. No matter how enjoyable and how much substance the rockers have, it is the mellow, bitter and pessimistic ballads that leaves the most lasting impressions. “The Boy Who Never Cried” is a stunning in its own bitter and isolated emptiness. Closing “Over Yonder” finds Steve Earle at his most forgiving, political and human side as he gives his two cents about the death penalty. Simply taking the role as the convicted, Earle achieves something special and worth thinking about. “Lonelier Than This” is also a clear highlight, with the far more traditional subject of loneliness and broken hearts. Not very original perhaps, but very it is affecting and honest sounding when Earle silently sings ‘tonight I prayed I’d die before I wake’. There are a couple of bluegrass songs here as well, but they’re getting shorter and fewer. Although “The Galway Girl” is successful in a lightweight and fun way, that fire in the performance that was evident all over The Mountain and Train A Comin’ has slowly turned into a dying spark. Dying, but a spark nonetheless. Since the album opened with loads of rockers, fans of bluegrass whom might have discovered Earle with The Mountain will be relieved to find at least some bluegrass and pure country material towards the end. “All My Life” points the way towards Jerusalem and serves well clearing the table for already mentioned “Jonathan’s Song (Over Yonder)”. A great, humble and beautiful way to close a great album.
Jerusalem Steve Earle was never afraid to voice his opinion whenever he thought it was necessary. On September 11th, four planes crashed in USA and the government went out to find the guilty. Earle thought that the Bush administration went too far, and took this chance to vent some of his political ideas. With the terrorist attacks fresh in the memory and the political (both international and national) and military game ultimately ended up being described and often condemned on this album, Jerusalem. But really, this is not the political provocation it was said to be when it was released. Just as on Springsteen’s The Rising, there is more than one side to it. Sure, you can say that the songs about lonely people are about American soldiers who want to go home, but it can also be about ordinary lonely people. It’s all about how one chooses to interpret it. By mixing modern sounding, distorted drums with old steel guitars and banjos a hybrid between old and new in a very successful way. There’s also more traditional arranged songs such as “Go Amanda” and “What’s A Simple Man To Do,” the first being one of the most obvious and direct highlights of the album. However, when the ideas of blending new and old are taken a bit further, the results become astonishing and truly interesting. The album opener, “Ashes To Ashes,” is a great example of this. Steve Earle was confronted by media and politicians because of Jerusalem (especially the track "John Walker's Blues", who is a song that sympathizes with the American John Walker, whom had joined the Taliban) and finally had to leave the States. Which is a shame, for the Americans missed out some great concerts when Earle toured Canada and Europe, which finally ended up as a very good live album called Just An American Boy.
Just An American Boy The Audio Documentary Hunted, hated and despised by his fellow countrymen, Steve Earle set out on a crusade. Not hesitating to speak his mind, no matter what the subject might be. Here, on this pretty excellent live album, he focuses mainly on the current government in America and the drastic changes in both the political and media climate after the 9/11. Actually, the talk between the songs are arguably more interesting than the performances. That might seem as a cold remark towards the music, but that is not the intention. Earle manages to raise a couple of good points that is worth thinking about. In the middle of all seriousness he also tells humorous stories about his hometown and his problems with the local police, which prevents him from coming across as a Michael Moore with a guitar. Also, the numbers from The Mountain and earlier, more country-folk related material blends in well, making the album enjoyable for people that disagree with Earle’s far from conservative opinions. The greatest moments on the album appears when things are stripped down and Earle’s acoustic guitar is pushed out into the spotlight. Especially during the section of the concert that is devoted to his concern about the death penalty, with “Over Yonder” and “Billy Austin” sending chills down the listeners spine despite the vocals being slightly rough in places. Of the electric, full band performances, it’s only the closing number, a cover of “What’s So Funny About Love, Peace & Understanding”, fittingly enough, that is able to match the acoustic majesties. Yet, Just An American Boy is a powerful statement and it must have taken a lot of guts to release it , both from Steve Earle himself and the record company.
[NOTE: The album includes a studio recording by Steve’s son, Justin. It’s a low-keyed ballad, very much in the same vein as his father’s work, but sadly lacks the inspiration and haunted feeling of Earle Sr.]
The Revolution Starts Now
The long run of truly excellent Steve Earle albums comes to a surprising halt with The Revolution Starts Now. Nothing is new under the sun; we still get lyrics knocking the American government, anti-war stories and broken hearted love tales. It is all backed by Steve Earle’s classic rock ‘n’ country music as well as the relatively recently found sound on latest studio album Jerusalem. And while I can applaud the artist’s courage to release these straight and out-spoken albums, something is missing this time. As Earle never was shy to express his feelings towards Mr. Bush and his politics, I feel that with the reelection so close on, Earle probably should have been at his most furious and inspired when creating this album. Instead it is lukewarm and not quite what it could have been. That said, there are still a few tracks standing above the majority.
“Rich Man’s War” shows a side of war and soldiers that rarely is spoken of. They don’t want to fight and leave their families behind, but with unemployment and economical problems there is no other way out. He also brings up the loyal patriot who wants nothing more than to serve his country, but finds that glory is nowhere to be found. Naturally there’s also the Muslim whose children grows up and play their games among tanks and flying bottles and rocks. Simple, but affecting and effective lyrics set to music in the same vein of “Christmas In Washington”, the best of Bob Dylan’s early protest songs or Woody Guthrie. The story about a drifter in “The Gringo’s Tale” also manages to hold interest, but perhaps mostly because of the intriguing string arrangement which makes it stick out from the other songs. Another clear highlight is “I Thought You Should Know”. A dark ballad that focus on traditional love, heartache and weariness and because of it’s completely lack of politic subjects it is instantly different from the other songs.
Life as a working musician hasn’t been easy for Earle during the last few years, and he brings that up in “F The CC” (I don’t think I have to explain what the F and the CC stands for. FBI and CIA also comes up...). That’s when he gets personal and not just a politician with a record contract. Yet, it lacks that little something to be truly thrilling. He tries so hard with all these songs to be resonant and compelling, but fails to truly reach the listener. The Revolution Starts Now is far from a bad record, but when even a duet with the lovely Emmylou Harris (“Comin’ Around”) isn’t able to move or touch, it is obvious that the album isn’t short of problems either.
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