Customer Reviews

Essential Steve Earle

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It was back in mid 80's when a foot stompin' toe tappin, guitar twangy rock-a-billy tune sung by a a scruffy looking kid with unkempt hair popped up. The rebellious image was a far cry from the pretty boy hat-acts invading country music.

His sound is nasal southern rock with twangy guitar toe tappin'. I liked the twang of the guitar that made him stand out from mainstream country on television. And later he disappeared, and reports surfaced about him serving jail time for drug charges.

The closest I can come up to a similar style is that of Dwight Yoakam and maybe John Brannen (someone you need to hear). Earle has been called a country rockin' Springsteen. He has amassed an impressive songwriting collection. He writes of the hard life, beer drinkin, jail, truckin, the road, heartaches, and down to earth style of life.

A compilation of hits, my sentimental favorite is "Guitar Town" and "I Ain't Never Satisfied."

"Someday" is about a man within the confines of a small town, and who is not quite taking the plunge to leave. Mosts songs are written by Steve Earle, Others: "The Devil's Right Hand, and I love the ballad "Goodbye is All There is Left to Say".

For a man who has lived a hard life, married six times, coke addict, and time in jail, he can sing about it all! If you don't quite know Steve Earle, buy this CD, it has a taste of what he is about.....He is between rock and country!

For video collection try the excellent 20th Century Masters - The DVD Collection: The Best of Steve Earle. And you may just like John Brannen
....Rizzo

Having grown-up preferring rock to country, I'm often drawn to those artists who fall in that "not really rock/not pure country" category. For me, Steve Earle is one of those artists. His personal life has seen him delve dangerously into the excesses which befall many artists (country and rock) - going way out on many ledges and managing to pull himself back in from the brink of disaster or even death. While his lifestyle may seem extreme and be painful for fans to watch, there's no doubt that it's yeilded some excellent songs. His ability to tell a story and make you care about the characters in these songs is comparable to Bruce Springsteen or the late Johnny Cash.

This collection is culled from Earle's first three albums ("Guitar Town", "Exit 0", and "Copperhead Road") plus a couple of tracks he contributed to the "Planes, Tranes, and Automibiles" soundtrack. All of the important tracks from those first three albums are here, including "Copperhead Road", Earle's first real crossover to rock radio. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to become aquainted with Earle's work without buying all of his albums. This particular collection is now out of print, but the recently released "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection" is nearly identical to this one. While he may be too country for some rock fans and too rock and roll for those who only like country, if you appreciate finely crafted songwritting, you'll enjoy this album.

I keep this album in my truck, always. It's the one I play when I don't yet know how I'm feeling. After listening to "The Essential Steve Earle" It's always easier to figure things out.

Steve Earle is the real deal. His songs are hard edged tales of love, lust, alcohol, and guns. While some of the tunes here may be a bit too country for fans of "Copperhead Road" (My own intro to Earle's music)give it a try. This man can tell a story and he'll convince you he knows what he's talking about. Listen to the restless soul on "Someday" and you know this guy is the goods. As mentioned in another review, this one's just a sampling of Earle's early work. Try it and see if it will lead you to Earle's later work where the edge just increases as the talent matures.

To be completely honest, I bought this album just because Earle was recommended to me endlessly by Amazon.com (I had never heard of him), and they were right on. Earle makes country music in the tradition of outlaw artists like David Allen Coe and Charlie Daniels, or perhaps rock music in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp, either way he is great. His lyrics are thoughtful; his music is a punchy mix of roots rock and country, truly a blessing. All the tracks are standouts (it is a greatest hits, of sorts) but worthy of special note are "Copperhead Road' and `Devil's Right Hand'. Buy It.

Thank you Amazon.com

Steve Earles Essential Steve Earle is a collection of this artists best tracks,in my opinion of course.If you want some outstanding Road Trip music this is the artist and the cd to get.If you, like i, enjoy music that tells a story then all the tracks here will satisfy you .The twangy guitar,and the two packs of smokes voice that is Steve Earle will not let you down on this one.

This compilation was released by MCA to capitalize on the wealth of material Earle recorded while under contract with the label, and is a chief financial officer's dream: an easy money-maker which features embarrasingly low-budget cover art, hardly any promotional expense, total lack of insightful liner notes, and some of the strongest, most influential country-rock music recorded in 20 years on either coast, guaranteeing mega-sales. Earle's career is represented well here, beginning with the legendary "Guitar Town" days and stopping before Earle's bombastic, drug-wrenched live album. For the uninitiated, this is a terrific introduction to the music of one of the best songwriters alive. For long-time fans, the verdict is clear: The music deserves 5 stars, but the CD packaging budget director at MCA should have been fired and put back to work washing dishes.

Steve Earle is one the best songwriters of our time, with no peers in the genre of outlaw country. The heir apparent to David Allan Coe, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings, Earle can break your heart with a gutwrenching ballad or send you right over the top with one of his furious harder numbers.

All of what Steve does is good... I love these early songs just as much as the songs on "Transcendental Blues" which is a creative leap forward to my ears, but like I say, it's all good when Steve Earle makes music and as far as his politics go, he can speak his mind all he wants to and I would still buy his music, even if I didn't agree with him. So shout it out Steve, I got not problem with Americans having their say and that goes for the Dixie Chicks too. This is America, land of free speech, that's one thing that makes our nation great!

If your not familiar with Steve Earle introduce yourself with a copy of "Guitar Town". The best thing about this CD is "Copperhead Road" and the cuts from "G.T.".