Copperhead Road (Rstr) (Dlx) (Exp) (Dig) [Deluxe Edition, Original recording remastered, Extra tracks]

Steve Earle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 29, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Deluxe Edition, Original recording remastered, Extra tracks
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B0016CP1Q4
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,066 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Never one to mince words, Steve Earle told his biographer Lauren St John, "COPPERHEAD ROAD was ‘f*$@ you,’ to an extent." Released Oct. 17, 1988, the album was indeed a raised middle finger to Nashville’s country music establishment, which had viewed the intransigent singer-songwriter’s swift rise in the late ‘80s with undisguised distaste. Brazenly explosive and hard-rocking, it was not the work of an artist who would be — or would want to be — embraced by the Grand Ole Opry. It also marked the commercial pinnacle of his career’s tumultuous first chapter.

The public responded to COPPERHEAD ROAD as MCA had hoped: The album won widespread mainstream critical acclaim and substantial rock radio airplay, and became Earle’s second gold release. The set broadened his fan base in a way many in Music City had not foreseen. It must have been a satisfying moment for country’s most persistent anti-authoritarian: He had proved Nashville wrong.

The present expanded Deluxe Edition offers a deep look at Earle on stage in the months surrounding the recording and release of COPPERHEAD ROAD. A November 1987 performance from Raleigh, North Carolina, by the Exit 0 band includes early renditions of "The Devil’s Right Hand" and "Johnny Come Lately," plus three numbers dating back to his Epic sessions and covers of songs by his Nashville compadre Rodney Crowell and early influence Gram Parsons. Springsteen receives homage in a 1988 solo version of his brooding "Nebraska." Finally, five songs from an April 1989 Canadian date reveals the stops-out potency of the Copperhead Road-era Dukes on the road.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS DELUXE EDITION OF COPPERHEAD ROAD IS THE ONE TO GET ! (the remastered original album plus a 2nd disc of live performances), January 5, 2009

By 

ol' nuff n' den sum (the Virginia coast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Copperhead Road (Rstr) (Dlx) (Exp) (Dig) (Audio CD)

Copperhead Road (1988) was Steve Earle's declaration of independence from the Nashville establishment, and it also became an important milestone in the early years of the alt-country music movement. Instrumentally diverse, the songs feature a mandolin, dobro, banjo, pedal steel, lap steel and harmonica rocking with the electric guitars, piano and drums. Celtic/outlaw-country/rock n' roll/bluegrass. There's plenty of attitude here, too.

Think backwoods whiskey stills and pot farms, trouble with the law, guns, Vietnam Vets and desperado love songs here. Steve Earle knows his way around just fine, and he's quite capable of weaving interesting yarns that effectively bring the tough people, places and situations he sings about to life. On Copperhead Road, Earle looks and sounds like a southern biker version of Springsteen/Mellencamp. One who can't seem to stay out of trouble. He does surprise us with the tender alt-bluegrass of Nothing But A Child, a touching meditation on the birth of Jesus that's very enjoyable.

The Devil's Right Hand tells the tale of a 19th Century teenager and his fascination with guns, which eventually gets him into trouble after he shoots a miner who cheated him in a card game.

Not guilty I said, You've got the wrong man
Nothing touched the trigger but the devil's right hand

The title song tells the story of an Army veteran who returns home to the family moonshine business in Tennessee after two tours of duty in Vietnam. He has PTSD and a new plan to grow Columbian and Mexican marijuana for profit.

Well the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air
I wake up screaming like I'm back over there
I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road

This Deluxe Edition of Copperhead Road features a bonus disc that includes seventeen live recordings from shows in Raleigh, North Carolina and Calgary, Canada. This is great stuff here, and Earle performs live versions of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, The Rolling Stones' Dead Flowers, Gram Parsons' Wheels, and his own Guitar Town, the hit single from his debut album.

If you're a Steve Earle fan, don't miss out on this deluxe version of Copperhead Road. Either one of these two discs is worth the price of admission here, but both of them together in one package make this a must-have.

"...Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand."

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Package, December 27, 2008

By 

Russell Docteur "RussDoc2r" (Greenback, TN) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Copperhead Road (Rstr) (Dlx) (Exp) (Dig) (Audio CD)

This is one of Steve Earle's best albums, and the added concerts on this Deluxe Edition are more of the same quality. Worth trading in your old copy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Gets Old, September 24, 2011

By 

G. Brozeit (Fairlawn, OH, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Copperhead Road (Rstr) (Dlx) (Exp) (Dig) (Audio CD)

The extra cd live edition makes a great reason to invest a few more bucks in this if you're a Steve Earle fan or want to get a sense of how he's changed and stayed the same over the years. The part that stayed the same is the constant desire to get it right, whatever "right" may be. When compared to his last works, this collection portrays an angry, incredibly gifted musician who really cares about what he does. One also gets the sense that he realized what talent he had and seemed to be in awe (haunted?) by the weight of it. Earle's talent has only gotten better and Copperhead Road plus the live set prove that he started at a pretty lofty place to begin with.