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Steve Earle, "I Feel Alright"
Warner Bros., released: 1996
Steve Earle is doin' it. He is putting out albums with serious flow and writing some of the greatest songs of the day. What's his form? Who cares: Folk, Country, Rock 'n' Roll. No one knows for sure but the songs are so real it doesn't matter. Just call it music and hold on to your hat. His vocal stylings and posture are that of a red neck good ol' boy (all the "g"s have been removed from the song titles and replaced with apostephes, i.e, Hurtin' Me . . .). So that seems to be the vein he is mining but he can certainly rock with the best of them. From the Boss to the Beatles he pulls inspiration that pops up in song after song. He plays the harmonica just this side of early John Lennon. "She done me wrong, and now she's gone"; it's typical rock or country fare but these songs are infused with such gusto and power that they come to life again and again. In "Valentine's Day" he shows up empty handed again, but still saves the day with his heart in his hand. And that's all you need, this album proves it. The ballad included on this disc, "Billy and Bonnie", is a bit below Earle's par, he usually hits these out of the park. But it's still way better than anybody else's. "CCKMP", cocaine cannot kill my pain, has got to be one of most simple yet grim addiction songs ever. The instrumentation on this album varies from song to song: the lone guitars on "South Nashville Blues" and "Valentine's Day" mixed up with full bands of guitars, drums, mandolins and harmonicas and a bit of orchestration thrown in here and there provide us with a nicely varied collection of songs. On the final track, "You're Still Standin' There", sung with Lucinda Williams, we're left with a song of almost perfect pop proportions. This song could be sung by almost anyone of any genre.
Steve Earle's career has been uneven to say the least, but this one and "Train A Comin'", released in 1995, are two of the best albums ever. He seems to be right on track and I can't wait 'til his next.
P.S., This album contains one of my favorite stray liner notes: "recorded in a magnetic field".
[BdeV 9/23/97]