| Since relocating to New York City in 2005 with his
wife, country singer Allison Moorer, Steve Earle has become
a mini "King of All Media": He's the host of his own Sirius
radio show, an actor on HBO's The
Wire, an esteemed playwright and a published author,
and, yes, still one of roots music's preeminent
practitioners. Produced by John King of the Dust Brothers
and recorded at NYC's famed Electric Lady Studios, Earle's
first album in three years feels like a postcard from his
new city. It opens with "Tennessee Blues," a kiss-off to
his longtime home base of Nashville, a place the rebellious
and iconoclastic singer clearly never felt comfortable in
("Fare thee well, I'm bound to roam … Goodbye, Guitar
Town," he sings, referencing his 1986 ode to Music City,
"Guitar Town"). The balance of the disc is much as you
might expect: a collection of finely etched story songs in
the mold of Earle's late mentor, Texas wordsmith Townes Van
Zandt, with music that offers spare folk-pop arrangements
spiced up with modern backbeats and world-music flourishes.
Though Earle's first few postcomeback albums, including
1995's Train a Comin' and 1996's
I Feel Alright, were models of
efficiency - there was nary a wasted note, breath, or
thought - his more recent work has been occasionally
uneven. The new disc is no exception, as it reveals its
share of duds, namely the beat-poet exercise "Down Here
Below" and the rather pedestrian entry "Satellite Radio."
Still, those few missteps are made up for elsewhere. Like
his pal Bruce Springsteen, Earle pays heartfelt homage to
folk legend Pete Seeger with "Steve's Hammer (For Pete)"
and the closing combination of "Days Aren't Long Enough" (a
gorgeous duet with Moorer). Those two songs, and his
version of Tom Waits's "Way Down in the Hole," a menacing
postmodern take on fire-and-brimstone gospel, are more than
enough to redeem the record. - Bob Mehr |
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