Steve Earle

Not all Steve Earle fans will appreciate this record. Like most great artists, Earle is constantly in motion, and there is a tendency for the listener to wish for him to stay put in some of the brilliant places he has occupied in the past. It does not work that way.

I have the advantage of having seen Earle do a number of these tunes live earlier in the year. While they represent a different direction than his earlier work, they easily hold their own. Earle continues to grow as an artist and in this era of corporate schlock that passes for music, we are fortunate to have to opportunity to go along for the ride. Approach this album with an open mind and you will be well rewarded.

Ok yes I bought this CD a while ago and was not impressed. Only reason I decided to comment was because Mr Earle has been such a great songwriter over the years and I enjoy his music immenseley. Do I want him to be miserable so that he can write good songs? No way. But I have to cast a no vote on the direction.

This is a great album. His last couple of efforts were a bit below his ussual high standard. This one brings him back to his best. Type of music you put on when you sit on the deck having a few quiet ones. Highly recommended listening.

Steve Earle will always be one of my favorite artists, but he isn't quite up to par on this CD. To say that he is a brilliant artist, poet, songwriter, and author is an understatement.

Steve Earle is a paradox. I love his voice and he can really craft a song. Some of his lyrics are very good. For the most part, that's enough to forgive the tired, time machine politics in some of his songs. City of Immigrants is one of those songs, but the scale still tips in Mr. Earle's favor with this CD. One future CD with just good music, and no pontificating, would be nice.

My husband loved this download for his MP3 he has shared it with everyone
Thanks

Right up there with other Steve Earle CDs. Would recommend to anyone who remotely likes his music!

the best steve earle album ive ever heard. more of a rockin feel to it. love it. glade to have it as a part of my cd collection.

Came as promised that's all i care about lol! it was a gift so i don't know how it runs.

Sold his FAVORITE guitar for drugs. He is not a poser, he has lived and survived it. Just remember,"You don't come back from Copperhead Road."

"Train a' Comin'" is the type of album that, after you listen to it, you're just left going, "Wow!" and although there are some super-catchy songs (most notably "Sometimes She Forgets,") it really takes a few listens to really completely love this record, or to at least fully appreciate it.
Pretty much everyone I've played this for has the same reaction--it changed them. I've learned more about songwriting from listening to this album than from any other record in my collection, save for my Townes Van Zandt and Hank Williams albums. Speaking of Townes, I often wonder what he thought of Steve's efforts, particularly this record. For those who don't know, Steve was Townes' protege back in the '70s when Mr. Earle was just a skinny kid bumming around Austin and later Nashville, tugging at the coattails of the likes of Townes, Jerry Jeff and Guy Clark. Of course, since Steve learned songwriting at the foot of the greatest songwriter who ever lived, it's easy to see why he became such a fantastic and important songwriter. Steve covers Townes' masterful "Tecumseh Valley" in such a heartfelt way that it comes close to making me favor it over the version on Townes' "Our Mother the Mountain," but I did write "almost."
If you have the properly sequenced version of this album (the one that begins with "Mystery Train No. II,") then you are in for a heck of a ride that does not stop in its amazing quality. Many of these songs, like "Mercernary Song" and "Tom Ames' Prayer" date back to Steve's early days of songwriting, and it is astonishing to me how he wrote such lyrics at such a young age, but then again, he was hanging out with Townes, so I guess that explains it.
Truly one of the most touching recordings you'll ever hear. Take my word for it.
From one Texas songwriter to another: Steve Earle, my friend, your work never ceases to amaze or inspire me.
-chris edwards

I am a rockn grandma whose favorite songwriter/singer is Steve Earl. This is my 3 year old grandson's favorite CD. He likes to get on the dining room table to sing and dance to Steve. The boy is aquiring a sophisticated musical ear so he will never be seduced by musical pablum.

One of my fav Earle albums, recorded during the heavy drug phase of his carrier. A great singer song writer by todays or yesterdays standards to be sure. Steve Earle is one of the last true great american artists still putting out records and touring. Get it and you wont be dissapointed.

This is by far the best and most cogent of Earle's albums. All the songs are stripped down to their essence, the lyrics are top notch and Earle's voice never sounded better - reassured yet fragile, tobacco and alcohol ravaged, full of sadness and regret.

This is the kind of album that belongs in the library of people who like Springsteen's "Nebraska", "Ghost of Tom Joad" and "The Seeger Sessions", The Pogues' "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" and "If I Should Fall From Grace of God", Johnny Cash's prison records, Bob Dylan, CCR, Hank Williams and others of this ilk. If you like any of the above buy this record and you shan't regret it.

Also do yourself a favor, buy "Galway Girl" off Earle's "Transcendental Blues" record, and when you rip this CD, add it to the track listing and re-burn. It fits this CD with uncanny naturalness.

Aside from "Train 'a Coming" the other one to own is the one he recorded with the DelMcoury band - that one's got more of a hoe down feel to it, but the musicians are top notch and Earle phones nothing in.

I have to agree with B. Morris. He (or she?) is not exaggerating and neither am I - this is one of the greatest albums ever made. I would put it into my top 20 or even top 10. No matter how many times I listen to it, I never seem to get sick of it. This is timeless, simple, honest roots music. "Mercenary Song" is an absolute gem. It's such an uplifting song...it's like a breath of fresh air...as if an exclamation mark is at the end of every line. Just when the world thought Mr. Earle was finished, he gives us this. Talk about a come back...

I'd read about this soundtrack frequently as it was given mention in many of the artists' CD reviews. I'm glad I put it in the shopping cart. Gustavo Santaolalla's instrumental snippets are beautiful, as they punctuate the soundtrack. He wrote the music for Emmylou Harris' recording "A Love That Will Never Grow Old." With Bernie Taupin doing lyrics, it is a beautifully wistful track with Harris' vocals gorgeous and stately, "Just a smile in your eyes, it can light up the night." Santaolalla also wrote Mary McBride's track "No One's Gonna Love You Like Me" that sounds like it's a blast from the past. The Santaolalla/Taupin team also writes Teddy Thompson's recording of "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" with Thompson's gorgeous vocals plaintive & pure, "All I want to do is live with you." Jackie Greene performs another Gustavo track on the hoe-down "I Will Never Let You Go." In addition to the Linda Ronstadt hit "It's So Easy" penned by Buddy Holly, Rufus Wainwright performs the somber piano melody "The Maker Makes." Teddy Thompson & Rufus Wainwright's duet on Roger Miller's classic "King of the Road" also puts a smile on my face. This is an excellent collection unified by the film's theme and Santaolalla's musical vision. Enjoy!

The music is wonderful, and it is great for any social gathering. The theme is haunting, and I can't seem to hear enough of it.

I loved the movie and the music. However, I'm very disappointed to discover that I cannot get the CD to copy to my iPod. This is a pet peeve of mine - I buy the music, I should get to listen to it on whatever device I choose.

This album is a mixture of the instrumental theme, which is incredibly beautiful and haunting, and some very solid country songs. I was surprised by how good the other songs were (you still have to like country music, though). There are only two songs that I don't like at all, and those are the two by Rufus Wainwright - one a cover of "King of the Road" (originally by Roger Miller). They are great demonstrations of him at his most nasal and whiny. It sounds like he is a French guy holding his nose and singing too slow. It's too bad, because they are good songs otherwise. I guess if you like him, you're golden; but I can't stand these versions. Fortunately, the rest of the disc is really good.

I listened to it over and over and over last year. Such quality all 'round.

this was the first cd from steve earle and it was good for the time when it came out. it has a lot of good songs all of which were singles off the album and some that were not singles. if you like rockin country with a twist of mellow this is the album for you.

This is Steve Earle's first alblum and his best. if you like rock, blues you need this cd.
it's great.

Steve Earl is a force in American Music that is not just Folk, Rock, Country, or Pop.
Hard to get to get air play. Like Mary Gauthier, Lucinda Williams, and Anne McCue; a radio programmer's nightmare. This is good though because these artists stand pat and do not bend with the dollar.

Buy it, you will not regret it and have a brand new hero. So to speak. Anyway, I was at a NYE Party in 1988 and a radio station gave this to host who gave it to me. Could not have been more lucky. Now I have most all SE had out. I was only 23 yrs old at time, newly married and in military (NOTHING CHANGED) and we both still buy anything SE has out. He has been thru alot, also. Listen to this mans voice and what he is putting out to there....just on the initial albumn and you will be hooked. my husband bought me new SE albumns (CD's) for my birthdays. Right on. Check out "THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW" also. Also read up on Steve Earle, anyone who can appreciate music, folk, alt country, bluegrass, etc need to check this "original" out and see for yourself.
I bought my husband SE, RSN, for Christmas year before last and he was very thankful. Can't say enough to justice to SE. Listen for yourself and be happy.

One of the best written albums of the 1980's. Song after song can grip you, if you know small towns. Earle seemed to be trying too hard in his early years and then went Hollywood after this album hit. This one defines him, not "Copperhead Road." He just wrote very well and accurately on this one. Good strong riffs, well produced, and soulful. All the elements I need for a 5 star rating. This album is comparable to Lucinda Williams's "Car Wheels..." in that it has a unifying theme, is dead-on to the theme, and has great performances. If "Hillbilly" is a positive for you instead of a dismissive term, you should like it. "Nothin ever happens around my home town and I aint the kind to just hang around..."

I just listened to this today for the first time in a few years; I'd forgotten how great an album it is.
I've been a follower of Steve Earle's career since his first New York City shows, at the old Lone Star, in the mid-eighties. Saw him again as the opening act for Bob Dylan, and again at a rally outside the Republican convention in 2004. I always try to catch his rare TV appearances. I'm a fan of his radio show. I have all the albums, and they're all exceptional. It's like being asked to pick your favorite child, but for me, "Trancendental Blues" is his greatest achievement. At about the point this afternoon when "I Don't Want To Lose You Yet" faded into "Halo 'Round the Moon", I was reminded again of this simple fact: If anyone has made a better record since, I haven't heard it.
He's one of the truly underrated greats.

Are any of those one-star reviewers actually listening to the words? I can't believe the number of interesting songs on this. (And no, I'm not a raving Earle fan. I like him, but I don't assume I'm going to like everything he, or any of my other favorite musicians, records.) The music is not subtle--lots of drums and heavy guitar--so if you're looking for more typical singer/songwriter fingerstyle guitar, etc., this ain't it. You've been warned. He's not in the same family as John Prine or Jimmy Dale Gilmore or the rest.

Earle continues his exploration of loves won, lost and longing as well as fables, road tunes, blue grass and a heartfelt perspective from death row executioning.
Any fan will appreciate Steve's forays into world sounds.
This is a must have. Don't miss out.

His best since El Corazon and one of this decades best. You can't go wrong with this one if you are already a Steve Earle fan.

I love performers who follow their own path no matter what. Lucinda Williams,Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle are the best current examples of this admirable quality.
This group swings for the fences,no compromises.As a result recordings that are unpredictable and unique and sometimes uneven characterise their work.
This cd covers so much ground it took me monthes to get a handle on it. It still feels like three seperate discs.
Still,it contains some of Steve's best work.Every emotion is here.Heartbreak,rage,teen angst,love,hate,sorrow.loss...all from a great story-teller who,trust me, has experianced them all by the truckload.
Give him a shot,this is one of those RARE recordings that offers you more with each listening.

...the ultimate Steve Earle album. I bought this on a whim about 10 years ago, in hopes it might be a pale reflection of Copperhead Road, which I had heard years earlier. In the words of our great president, "Mission Accomplished." I was a lost midwestern boy living in Los Angeles, and the first song especially, as well as the last, sustained me through many days when I thought I was at the end. This was also my initial exposure to Woody Guthrie, as mentioned in song #1, which absolutely changed my life. Christmastime in Washington stands alone against any folk song ever sung as one of the greats.

This is one of Mr. Earle's finest. He displays, once again, his wide range of musical styles and his ability to write great lyrics. Many good songs including Taneytown, Fort Worth Blues, an homage to Townes and Van Zandt, and Telephone Road, a finger snapping tale of finding solace at the local rockin' juke joint.

Steve Earle's fall from grace has been well documented, as was his recovery. I was working as a writer in Nashville when the stories about Earle begging for change outside of clubs were circulating. As the artist behind one of my favorite CD's of all time, "Copperhead Road," it disturbed me that a talent of this magnitude had dropped down so far.

"El Corazon" is the CD that changed that for good. Having gotten the past out of his system on "Train a'Coming" and "I Feel Alright," "El Corazon" finds him at a peak of songwriting, rediscovering his voice and reclaiming country from the world of hat acts. He brings in the Fairfield Four to channel Elvis Presley on "Telephone Road." Emmylou Harris drops in for vocals on "Taneytown." There's some near bluegrass on "The Other Side Of Town." And to top it off, Earle revisits his days as a musical bad boy by bringing in SubPop artists The Supersuckers to grunge up "NYC."

Earle also regains his social voice here. On the songs "Christmas In Washington," "Taneytown" and "Ft Worth Blues," Earle begins the turn into politics that would boil over into controversy once "Jerusalem" and "The Revolution Starts Now" were ultimately released. "Ft Worth Blues" is an eulogy to Towns Van Zandt, and a beautiful closer to the CD. It is, however, on "Christmas In Washington" that Earle measures up to Van Zandt's best work, as well as Woody Guthrie, the song's obvious inspiration. Decrying a nation's capitol where the Democrats sat frozen with fear after the Impeachment hearings were tossed and the Republicans began to overtly plot their revenge, Earle asks why no-one else seems to notice...or for that matter, care. It is such a potent song that even Joan Baez has covered it.

Although some here on Amazon have claimed "Christmas In Washington" is a weak song to lead "El Corazon," I respectfully disagree. It sets the voice of the CD into a troubadour mode, with "Ft Worth Blues" paying the perfect tribute at the end. In between, the stylistic mix shows that Steve Earle had overcome his long odds and recovered his rightful place as a singer and songwriter among the long lost country outlaws. A reminder that the Nashville establishment gave up on authenticity decades ago, "El Corazon" is music with a real heart.

#1. Guitar Town
#2. I Feel ALright
#3. El Corazon
#4. Transendental Blues

...in my humble opinion.

Back when this album was released, I remember falling immediately under its spell. Years later and... it's only grown stronger. It may well be Steve's finest hour--that's a tough call, granted, and one that on another day, in another mood, I might quibble with myself. But here he covers all of the bases: acoustic-folk, heavy-duty rock 'n' roll, message music, story songs and ... forget it. Why explain the unexplainable? Just plug this sucker into the CD player and crank it: Buttressed by Emmylou Harris' haunting harmonies and Steve's own gritty delivery, the thud-thick, Crazy Horse-like chords of "Taneytown" will leave you on the floor. Same with "If You Fall": killer chords, killer vocals, killer lyrics .... followed by the birth of something grand: "I Still Carry You Around," the inspiration for Steve's collaboration with The Del McCoury Band, The Mountain. Another highlight is "Poison Lovers," a duet with Siobhan Kennedy that's just plain intoxicating--if you're like me, you'll be hitting the "repeat" button ad infinitum. And then, of course, there's Steve's incisive tribute to the late Townes Van Zandt, "Ft. Worth Blues." In short, rock 'n' roll, country, where ever the hell you classify Steve, music doesn't get any better than this.

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 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 "just leave me the hell alone" 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 makes this a must-have.

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

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.

With a clear head and a surviving exhaltation, I Feel Alright serves notice that Steve Earle has re-surfaced from the depths of his drug impaired personal situation with a backlog of songs that literally pour out from the speakers. Continuing to call on his own experiences in an virtually auto-biographical manner, confessions such as "Hard Core Troubardors" rock and wink as he challenges his protaganists to think twice about getting involved with him in the first place.

Filled with instantly repeatable choruses and jublilant melody, "More Than I Can Do" and "You're Still Standing There" are cause for constant replay. This CD sets the standard for any future offering from Earle or any other serious singer songwriter for that matter. Included are soon to be standards of Earle's live performances, "Valentine's Day", "South Nashville Blues", and the "Unrepentant".

Taken singularly, a Steve Earle album can hold its own with most any other writer, but taken as a body of work, it becomes a standard that challenges all comers. Guitar Town was only a beginning, and a compromise to Nashville production standards of the time, but once the listener begins the journey started with "Exit O", "The Hard Way", and then "I Feel Alright" an increasingly justified appreciation for a certain wreckless genius unfolds.

This is a great album by a great artist. This album is the perfect place to start your schooling by one of the masters. Steve Earle for Mayor of Baltimore!

The theme of this album is simple: Steve Earle got himself healthy again and was ready to show that he could confront his past and rock out again with the best of 'em. After being one of popular music's biggest outlaws in the late '80s, Steve effectively disappeared in the early '90s as his years and years of drug use took over his life. He called it his "vacation in the ghetto." When he finally agreed to go to rehab, Steve was afraid to jump back into his old image too quickly. For him, loud guitars meant money, and money meant drugs, and he wasn't ready for that yet. Thus he recorded the phenomenal all-acoustic masterpiece Train a Comin' in 1995, his way of easing himself back into the recording process. The following year, well, Steve began to feel alright again and he plugged the guitars back in and recorded one of the great albums of the modern era (which could be said about any of his albums, in truth).

Allow me to be blunt here. Turn this album up as high as you can tolerate it, and be ready to peel the paint off the walls, because from its opening to its closing, this album rips...Nashville renegade way. The sound of Steve's guitar in "Feel Alright"'s first chords is pristine and jumps right out at you. Fans of HBO's The Wire will recognize this song from the closing montage from season 2 (and of course Earle plays a character on the show). The guitars jangle, the drums pound, and Steve's harmonica blows like a hurricane as he sings about all the people who doubted him, wanted to take advantage of him, and never liked him to begin with. "Be careful what you wish for friend, 'cause I've been to hell and now I'm back again. I feel alright," Steve sings, and we know that all is right in Steve's world again.

"Hard-Core Troubadour" comes next, and is a fast-paced redneck romp that grabs you right from the first drum smash and doesn't let up until it's over. The guitars snarl as Steve weaves his words around the tale of "the last of the hard-core troubadours," a phrase that has now become his nickname. "More Than I Can Do" blasts off with Steve's harmonica playing as he sings a rockin' love song about not being able to give up the one he loves. This one moves so fast that you may not even realize the beauty of the chords, but it's there; the chord structure is excellent. "Hurtin' Me, Hurtin' You" is a slower, arpeggiated ballad about hurting his loved one(s). As I said above, that's part of the theme of this album, dealing with his past and the way he was pre-rehab. Steve croons the lyrics as the song goes on, showing his rock side a bit near the end before declaring that he "never meant to be cruel or untrue...I'm just hurtin' me when I'm hurtin' you."

"Now She's Gone" is another harmonica-based song that, effectively, acts as an alt-rock "sequel" to the subject of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home." As always, Steve's lyrics are perfect, one of the masterful lyricists of our time: "She always kept on movin' and she never wasted time, and they said she left quite a string of broken hearts behind. Woke up alone and now she's gone." The next song, "Poor Boy," is a very rockabilly tune about being born into the wrong stock and having to try to make his way through life and love as he tries to figure out what a poor boy's gonna do. The beginning and end are regular romps, but it rocks during the middle solo section. It's followed by the album's first soft song, the lovely "Valentine's Day," one of the most beautiful songs Steve ever wrote. Written on February 13th (my birthday!), this song describes the true situation of Steve simply forgetting about Valentine's Day and having nothing to give but his love (and this song). This is, simply, one of the greatest love songs ever written, and every single thing about it shines, from Steve's cracked vocals to the chord structure to the string arrangement to the background vocals from the Fairfield Four. Steve sings, "I know that I swore that I wouldn't forget. I wrote it all down; I lost it, I guess. There's so much I want to say, but all the words just slip away. The way you love me every day is Valentine's Day." Do yourself a favor: forget about your next Valentine's Day gift and sing this song to the person you love instead.

The song ends and the loud cracks of "The Unrepentant" begin. This song is the heaviest on the album, and is basically Steve's way of affirming what he used to be like. He howls about being unafraid of consequences, of not caring what anybody said to him, of staring down the devil himself...and then it drones out into the Eastern-influenced CCKMP, a song that Steve wrote before ever going into rehab but never recorded because his drug use took over his life. As he sings, "Cocaine cannot kill my pain," and "Heroin is the only thing, the only gift that darkness brings," he instills in the listener the darkness that he went through in his own drug use. This is the first of two songs on the album to blatantly deal with his former drug use, and as Steve says, he likes to play them together when he can, just as a reminder to himself what he used to be like. "Billy and Bonnie" is a light-hearted story-driven song about two thieves and their travails together. The lyrics are the highlight of this one.

Next comes the other drug song, "South Nashville Blues." Whereas "CCKMP" was dark, this one is light and exactly what you'd expect it to sound like from the title. "CCKMP" dealt with the after effect of the drugs; "South Nashville Blues" deals with the obtaining of them: "I took my pistol and a hundred dollar bill...I had everything I needed to get me killed." And, too soon, the album ends with the lovely Lucinda Williams duet, "You're Still Standing There." They sing two sides of a tale of a man not knowing where he's headed in life except back to the woman he loves, even as the world keeps turning round and round and life goes on outside of him. A great way to end the album.

Bottom line? If you want to experience a natural high, get in your car, get on an open road, pop in this album, and turn the volume up. Steve was ready to confront his demons and he felt alright doing it. Be ready to listen, and be thankful that you did.

With a clear head and a surviving exhaltation, I Feel Alright serves notice that Steve Earle has re-surfaced from the depths of his drug impaired personal situation with a backlog of songs that literally pour out from the speakers. Continuing to call on his own experiences in an virtually auto-biographical manner, confessions such as "Hard Core Troubardors" rock and wink as he challenges his protaganists to think twice about getting involved with him in the first place.

Filled with instantly repeatable choruses and jublilant melody, "More Than I Can Do" and "You're Still Standing There" are cause for constant replay. This CD sets the standard for any future offering from Earle or any other serious singer songwriter for that matter. Included are soon to be standards of Earle's live performances, "Valentine's Day", "South Nashville Blues", and the "Unrepentant".

Taken singularly, a Steve Earle album can hold its own with most any other writer, but taken as a body of work, it becomes a standard that challenges all comers. Guitar Town was only a beginning, and a compromise to Nashville production standards of the time, but once the listener begins the journey started with "Exit O", "The Hard Way", and then "I Feel Alright" an increasingly justified appreciation for a certain wreckless genius unfolds.

Here it is. I've been going on for years and years about how great this guy is and how nearly every album (up until "Jerusalum" anyway) he does is better than the one before. This was a big turning point in his style and overall songwriting. After the stint in prison, he released the equally excellent, all-acoustic "Train a Comin'" and followed up with the more rockin' "I feel Alright". This was a more ragged, harder rocking Steve Earle who actually lived everything that he was singing about and wasn't afraid to wear his feelings on his grungy sleeve. The authenticity could never be faked, only bought through years of hard living and near death experiences.

Coming in at a close third ("Transcendental Blues" and "El Corazon" come in first and second) This is definitely a must-own for any fan of real music. Simple as that.