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by David Levine
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Steve Earle, in the liner notes of his new record states, "This ain't my unplugged record. I made most of these songs up before I was plugged in in the first place." He also says he hates MTV. Needless to say you won't be seeing any videos off this record.
Steve Earle, the brilliant, troubled, outlaw burnout of country rock has surfaced to release a new acoustic record. (Winter Harvest Records, Nashville) It's an old-time pickin' session, and you get the feeling that Steve got his buddies together and (depending on whether he is drinking) passed around a bottle of Jack and played into the night.
Steve plays some old songs, a few new ones and some favorite covers: Townes Van Zandt's Tecumseh Valley, The Lennon/McCartney composition, I'm Looking Through You and the reggae classic, The Rivers of Babylon.
Good-bye [224K .wav|160K .au] (#3 - 01:38) is a new song and very heartfelt. It's an apology of sorts by a guy who wonders, "Was I just off somewhere just too high/ But I can't remember if we said good-bye." Its simple pulsing bass and lightly picked guitar support a lonely melody of regret. I get the feeling Steve Earle knows whereof he speaks.
Tom Ames Prayer [256K .wav|192K .au] (#4 - 00:00) is classic Steve Earle. A song about an outlaw's first foray into religion; praying once he's cornered. These are the kind of songs that made Earle, great story songs with strong, memorable melodies. The new songs on this disc are as good as the old ones. It makes me want to hear another rock record from Steve. The coolest cover is I'm Looking Through You [256K .wav|192K .au] (#7 - 01:33). It sounds great even as a bluegrass tune.
The players are great. Peter Rowan on mandolin and vocals was a member of Old And In The Way along with Jerry Garcia. ( F.Y.I., I saw Rowan with his band, The Rowan Brothers, as a dirty adolescent in my folks' bar in Pt. Arena, California.) Rounding out the group is Norman Blake on guitar who has a cut of his own on this disc. I'm surprised Earle and Blake picked this one because it doesn't show his abilities particularly well. Roy Huskey plays string bass and Emmylou Harris sings backup on a couple of numbers.
This is definitely a record for Steve Earle fans or for anyone who likes old fashioned pickin' cooked up crispy and hot.
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