New Steve Earle Album Out Aug. 24 -- Takes Bush to Task

[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

[redqueen]

1. Isn't he a country artist?!

:wow:

[jdsmith]

2. Steve Earle is probably the most radical bigname artist today

and is often considered "country" because of his earliest recordings and the sound of much of his music (although a good bit of it sounds to me like a marginally more Texan Springsteen <_Copperhead Road_, e.g.>). But his anti-Nashville stance on such issues as the death penalty and war have gotten him marginalized by the Country Right Establishment: you can see his drug travails detailed every month or so on Country Music Television.

[redqueen]

5. Thanks for the info

I'll definitely be telling my fellow Texans about this release.

[NuckinFutz]

3. Yup, the outlaw kind

in the Willie Nelson tradition

[prankster]

4. hard to pigeonhole Steve Earle

Overall, I guess you would call Steve Earle a country artist. Some call him a hillbilly Springstein. But he rocks and rolls with the best of them, and can do some kickass bluegrass. The concert last night was with his bluegrass band. In 1999, he put out an amazing bluegrass album with the Del McCoury band called "The Mountain." The title track tells the story of a mountain boy who grows up to work the mines, and the devastation the coal companies cause:

I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home
And she holds me and keeps me from worry and woe.
Well they took everything that she gave, now their gone
But I'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home.

He released an album in 2002 called Jerusalem. A lot of the right-wing got their panties in a know over a song called "John Walker Blues."

He is living evidence that not all southerners fit the stereotype.

Cheers,

Prankster

[dmkinsey]

6. He's got a country sound

Started out in the country scene (Copperhead Road is about as country as I can go and it's excellent).Steve had some trouble keeping certain chemicals out of his brain and did some time in the big house.
His more recent albums feature some cutting social comment. I highly recommend Transcendental Blue and Jerusalem.

[Bridget Burke]

7. He's a Texan who's lived in Nashville for some time.

Went to Nashville following in the tradition of Townes van Zandt & Guy Clark. He's been through five wives & serious substance abuse.

He records in a wide variety of styles & is worth a listen.

[redqueen]

10. Woohoo! A Texan!

Take that ya' Texan-haters! ;)



And thanks to all for all the info! DUers ROCK!

:yourock:

[upperleftedge]

11. Prankster is from Portland!

I know because a bunch of my friends went to that concert at the Aladdin. Steve is a country artist, yeah, and so is his sister Stacey, who is wonderful! They are both active in the fight against the death penalty. I'm waiting for a full report on the concert later at the pub. Steve Earle isn't afraid of Bush or anyone else for that matter. He beat heroin and booze and the Nashville Mafia!
Hey Prankster, do you ever go to 'church' at the laurelthirst? The Freak Mt. Ramblers will make you dance and think at the same time.

[prankster]

13. you outed me! I am a PDX Prankster!

I haven't had the chance to check out the Freak Mountain Ramblers just yet. I've been meaning to. I just finished three years of law school, which didn't give me much time to get out and about. But rather than study for the bar exam last night, I felt it was a moral imperative to get out and see Steve Earle.

Cheers,

Prankster

[AngryAmish]

8. I met Steve Earle once

He said "Hi." I said "Hi." Then I got a beer.

I don't like bothering people.

[prankster]

9. One thing he said last night

Among the many that stuck with me, was this (paraphrasing)

"You hear a lot of people talking today, saying that artist shouldn't comment on the world around them. I thought that was my f***ing job. Hell, I know it's my f***ing job."

Cheers,

Prankster

[upperleftedge]

14. That's why he does work with Del anymore.

Del just couldn't take the language. He was raising his boys as christians.

[prankster]

15. Is that what it was?

My brother works in an independent studio in Nashville and had heard rumors that Del and Steve couldn't work together anymore, but didn't know the details. Tis a pity cause their collaboration on The Mountain was fantastic.

Whatever their differences, Steve stills gives Del the respect he is due. Last night he was talking about The Mountain and described the Del McCoury band as the best bluegrass band in the world. I'm not sure how the Bluegrass Dukes (the bad he was playing with) felt about that. I imagine its kind of like talking about an ex-girlfriend in front of your wife and saying she was the best (fill in the blank) in the world. Maybe not.

Cheers,

Prankster

[jdsmith]

16. SHARP-DRESSED Christians

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. His CD 'Jerusalem' is awesome

I can't wait for this new one. Plus he's coming to Florida. Yahoo!

[Lex]

23. Yes, every DU'er should listen to "Jerusalem"

Earle took a lot of heat over that CD. When you hear the songs on it, you'll know why. It makes a lot of powerful political commentary and is just damn fine music too.


For instance, John Walker's Blues about John Walker Lindh.

Artist/Band: Earle Steve
Song: John Walker's Blues
Album: Jerusalem


I'm just an American boy raised on MTV
And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads
But none of 'em looked like me
So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim
And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him

chorus:
A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God but God

If my daddy could see me now – chains around my feet
He don't understand that sometimes a man
Has got to fight for what he believes
And I believe God is great, all praise due to him
And if I should die, I'll rise up to the sky
Just like Jesus, peace be upon him

chorus

We came to fight the Jihad and our hearts were pure and strong
As death filled the air, we all offered up prayers
And prepared for our martyrdom
But Allah had some other plan, some secret not revealed
Now they're draggin' me back with my head in a sack
To the land of the infidel

A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
A shadu la ilaha illa Allah

[AliceWonderland]

24. Everything I've heard from Jerusalem has been fantastic

Love the title track and "Conspiracy Theory."

[alonso_quijano]

17. "El Corazón"

One of my favorite albums EVER!

[atreides1]

18. The Title of The Album/CD

The title is "Revolution Starts Now", it can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com for $17.98.

[seemslikeadream]

19. Steve is the sweetest thang on the face of the earth!

Mercenary Song


Me and bill there we both come from georgia
Met hank out in new mexico
We're bound for duranqo to join pancho villa
We hear that he's payin' in gold

I guess a man's got to do what he's best at
Ain't found nothin' better so far
Been called mercenaries and men with no country
Just soldiers in search of a war

Chorus
And we're bound for the border
We're soldiers of fortune
And we'll fight for no country but we'll die for good pay
Under the flag of of the greenback dollar
Or the peso down mexico way

When this war is over might go back to georgia
And settle down quiet some where
I'll most likely pack up and head south for chile
Heard tell there's some trouble down there

[Jim Warren]

20. Newport Folk Festival

Steve Earle will be at Newport this year, Aug. 6-8, along with many other performers of course.

Looking forward to it, the stage is just five minutes from my house
and one of the things that lets me forget for a moment the insanity of living in the population density of the Bos-Wash complex.

[SeattleRob]

21. I got my tickets for Tomorrow night!

I am very psyched to be seeing Mr. Earle tomorrow night.

[prankster]

22. That's at the zoo right?

Steve told a story at last night's show about how the last time he was in Portland he played the Oregon Zoo and ended up getting blacklisted from the zoo for giving a shout out to a union.

He said that a couple of days before his show, he got an email from some guys in a union struggle with a saw mill in Colorado. The mill had locked them out. When a company does a lookout, they have to get some money from somewhere -- like Wells Fargo which underwrites loans for companies that lock their workers out. Turns out Wells Fargo sponsored this particular concert and Steve ruffled their feathers a bit when he explained to the good folks at his show about how banks like Wells Fargo help companies lock unions out.

Then he said that those folks who don't think unions serve a purpose have never worked in a dangerous job. Then they played "The Mountain." It was sweet.

Enjoy the show tomorrow!

Cheers,

Prankster

[Desperadoe]

25. The Mountain

Is an absolute great bluegrass album and the collaboration with Del McCroury was terrific. Whoever said that it was Steve's penchant for profanity that caused them to split is correct but Steve has tremendous respect for the McCrourys.

The final song on the album is called "Pilgrim" and was penned by Steve following Roy Huskey's funeral. It is one of the most beautiful tributes songs that have ever been written. It is performed by Steve and a big batch of his closest friends in the music industry, including Emmylou Harris and Marty Stuart. When they listened to the final cut in the recording studio there was not a dry eye in the bunch.

If you ever get a chance to see him live don't pass it up.

[Zen Democrat]

26. Listen to Steve Earle's "Just An American Boy" album.

It's live and will give you the feel of hearing Steve live. It includes his monologues before songs .. such as Jerusalem, Christmas in Washington, What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding, Conspiracy Theory and Harlan Man, etc. It's Steve at his best.

[Sweetpea]

27. Yeh...in August...hmmmm.... he better be on the lookout for the FEC

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

28. Reading this thread, I am intrigued. Any good few representative songs

I can buy for a buck off iTunes to check him out?

[prankster]

29. Don't know what itunes has but...

Rock n Roll -- Copperhead Road (this was a big top 40 type hit in 1988)

Bluegrass -- The Mountain, Harlan Man, Dixieland

Plus, from the Jerusalem Album, both Jerusalem and Johnny Walker Blues are great.

Cheers,

Prankster