New Steve Earle Album out Aug. 24

[prankster]

I went to a Steve Earle concert last night. A great show all around (to any Seattle DUers, he'll be in your town tomorrow night, if you can get your hands on a ticket, I'd check it out). At the end he announced that he and his band had busted their butts to get a new album out before the election and that it would come out on Aug. 24. He also said that he was going to be touring the big battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida between now and the election.

He played one new song from the album, and if it is any indication of the caliber of music and songwriting, the album is a must buy. The song was "Rich Man's War" and told the stories of three young soldiers. The first is an American who signed up because there were no other jobs around, and as he rolls through Baghdad, he wonders how he got this far. The second, also an American, is your dyed-in-the wool patriotic soldier. He leaves behind a wife and kid to go fight in Iraq. They extend his deployment, and his family can't keep up on his car payments and they repossess his car. The final is a kid from Gaza, recruited and driven to his bombing destination by some rich man in a brand new Mercedes.

All three stories/verses end with the refrain, "Just another poor boy, goin' to fight in some rich man's war."

Though I've only heard the one song, I can't wait for the album. I think its going to be called "The Revolution Starts...Now." It includes a rant against the FCC called "F the CC" and a track called "Condi, Condi" (which I imagine is hardly a love song).

Cheers,

Prankster

[Bridget Burke]

1. While we approve of Earle's politics, let's not forget.....

That he is a kick-ass musician.

He writes great songs, whether or not they're politically meaningful. Like many songwriters, his voice is not great. But, like many songwriters, the meaning comes through when he sings.

And he uses a variety of styles. His road band rocks pretty hard but he also acoustic, solo shows. The album he did with Del McCoury's bluegrass band is one of his best. And he's also tried Irish, honky-tonk & folk-rock.