Guitar Town (Remastered)(Bonus Track) [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Steve Earle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca Nashville
• ASIN: B00005V7G1
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,976 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #28 in Music > Indie Music > Country > Alt-Country & Americana
  • #34 in Music > Rock > Roots Rock
  • #67 in Music > Country > Neotraditional

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

On this 1986 debut, Steve Earle burst on the scene as a fully formed songwriting master, synthesizing effortlessly the finest parts of country-folk troubadours like Townes Van Zandt and the anthemic, working-class rock of Bruce Springsteen. "Someday," a country-rock masterpiece about a kid stuck pumping gas in a dead-end town, remains the perfect realization of this style, and with the exception of the slight and silly "Little Rock 'N' Roller," most everything else here (especially "Hillbilly Highway" and the heartbreaking ballad "My Old Friend the Blues") comes awfully close. The 2002 reissue, overseen by Earle and original producer Tony Brown, offers fresh remastering, new liner notes by Earle, and a bonus live version of Springsteen's "State Trooper." --David Cantwell

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Country & Western
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 29-JAN-2002

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Essential 16 Years Later, January 31, 2002

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Guitar Town (Remastered)(Bonus Track) (Audio CD)

I bought this album on vinyl when it was first released in 1986--the same year that Dwight Yoakam debuted with Guitars, Cadilacs, Etc., Etc. While both artists used different approaches (Earle filtered his music through rock, while Yoakam leaned more toward honky-tonk and the Bakersfield sound), both artists brought an honesty and integrity to country music that had been missing from mainstream country. All tracks were written or co-written by Earle with the exception of the bonus track, a live version of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper." [This bonus track was originally released in 1986 on an EP and is also available on the 2-CD anthology Ain't Ever Satisifed.] Earle has put out a string of excellent albums over the years, but his debut is arguably his strongest. He's never fit in with the hat acts of the past two decades--Earle is too much of a rebel for that--but as he sings on the title track: "Hey, pretty baby are you ready for me/yeah, it's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee." Country radio may not have been ready, but they sure needed him. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece Revisited, March 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Guitar Town (Remastered)(Bonus Track) (Audio CD)

Now beautifully restored to pristine analog, 'Guitar Town's' sound is warm, capturing bass lines lost in the original digital master released against Earle's wishes. Included is a seething live version of Springsteen's "State Trooper," captured during Earle's exhuberant concert at Chicago's Park West Theatre in August 1986, showcasing a young troubador ready to take on the world. To complete the package, MCA generously included some extra photos from the original Guitar Town session in downtown Nashville for this re-issue, which show just a hint of imminent trouble in Earle's eyes. Most welcome are Earle's illuminating, newly-penned liner notes, which tell of his attendance of a "Born In The USA" concert, (which inspired "Guitar Town,") and shed much-needed light on Guitar Town's genesis. Easily the most groundbreaking Nashville recording since Waylon Jennings' 1970's sessions, Guitar Town was #79 on Rolling Stone's 'Top 100 Albums of the 80's' list and was hailed by rock critics as the savior of country music. Guitar Town is a cornerstone of the mid-1980's "New Traditionalist" movement in Nashville, and continues to exert a massive influence on songwriters 16 years after it's release. Earle may never understand the full impact this recording will continue to have on future generations of songwriters, but the reappearance of this much-loved, maddeningly slow-selling Rosetta Stone of modern-day country music gives a good hint.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early indication of Earle's talents, March 5, 2002

By 

Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Guitar Town (Remastered)(Bonus Track) (Audio CD)

This essential Steve Earle album has the gems "Guitar Town," "Hillbilly Highway," "My Old Friend the Blues,"--well, heck, they're pretty much all gems. "Guitar Town" concisely sketches the life of a traveling musician in today's terms. "Hillbilly Highway" is defiantly proud of its country roots. Even the quasi-lullaby, "Little Rock and Roller," has an edge and benefits from Earle's signature gruff, sandpapery voice. All-around excellent stuff.