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I've been a hardcore Earle fan since seeing him live in Seattle on the Copperhead Road tour.  Seen him many times more after that and each and every show has been great.  I will say the following about the studio records.  I feel the quality of the songwriting has been steadily weakening since the career high of Transcendental Blues.  Are there songs on the albums that came after that I like?  Of course, but as a whole they are lacking in comparison.  Maybe a move back to Texas is in order to get back to the basics.  I also believe as Steve has become more political the songs and the albums are noticably weaker.  If you want to hear a good anti war song that was done tastefully check out Fogerty's "Deja Vu all Over Again."

Lastly, where the heck are the Dukes?  Bring 'em back please and check the acoustic guitars at the door!! 

Unadan,   thanks for sharing your views. I can see where you're at with your point of view  like  you,   I would love to hop into that old time machine and be transported back to the days of " Copperhead Road." and " The Hardway." tours   however,  I can't find the bloody time-travel  thing .  The World and  Steve Earle has changed since "Transcendental Blues"  was released  on Jun 06, 2000.   9/11 changed everything.  The World is a different place.  Since then I think Steve has followed the rule of "Don't get up on stage if you aint got nothing to say, more in recent years.  Steve was always one for the political statements as I am sure you will remember.  How many times have we heard on this side of the pond " My F**king Country."   I've lost count.   Steve has always challenged those "Americian values" both  at home and within the world as a whole.  sure before "TB" we had songs like " Christmas In Washington" and "The Mountain."   I feel in recent years he has felt the need to be more vocal in political respects. Due to what he sees as the lies and whitewashing being carried out in certain quarters of his country.   

 

I will stand up and say his " Lesser men would have shrunk for the task at hand."   Steve stood tall and offered up " John Walker's Blues."  " Jerusalem"  " The Revolution Starts...Now."  I really admire the guts it took to record that album.  The Grammy was well earned !   post 9/11  we need to remember the Steve we know and love didn't changed,    It's the world he. you and I are living in that that's changed.   No one person can choose the path another takes They have to choose their own path   the only choice we  have to make is do we travel along that path with them and if so how long to you walk with them ?

I will say this Steve is the only one that can write the albums you feel he has not given us since "TB"   so keep walking.  My faith is as strong today as it was all those years ago . The Dukes will always be around as long as Steve is,  When he thinks it is time to make the calls he will. 

 

 

F The CC

I used to listen to the radio
And I don’t guess they’re listenin’ to me no more
They talk too much but that’s okay
I don’t understand a single word they say

Piss and moan about the immigrants
But don’t say nothin’ about the president
A democracy don’t work that way
I can say anything I wanna say

So fuck the FCC
Fuck the FBI
Fuck the CIA
Livin’ in the motherfuckin’ USA

People tell me that I’m paranoid
And I admit I’m gettin’ pretty nervous, boy
It just gets tougher everyday
To sit around and watch it while it slips away

Been called a traitor and a patriot
Call me anything you want to but
Just don’t forget your history
Dirty Lenny died so we could all be free

So fuck the FCC
Fuck the FBI
Fuck the CIA
Livin’ in the motherfuckin’ USA

So fuck the FCC
Fuck the FBI
Fuck the CIA
Livin’ in the motherfuckin’

So fuck the FCC
Fuck the FBI
Fuck the CIA
Livin’ in the motherfuckin’ USA

Listen to what the man says !!

 

 

 

 

 

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They chased a brand new star, ever towards the west
Across the mountains far, but when it came to rest
They scarce believed their eyes, they'd come so many miles
And the miracle they prized was nothing but a child

Agreed on "Transcendental Blues, " I think it is his best album.

But steady decline?  No way.  Does the arc of an artist's career always resemble a bell curve, I don't think so.

So much of how we relate to music is the phase of our lives, where we were at the time and how open were we to the (hate to say it) message, the feelings that songs produced.  Greenwich Village is not the same as it was in the sixties, Austin is not the same,  Nashville - well, it's pretty much the same.  I am not the same, as is SE or any of us, as we were back then.  In some  ways, yes, but things change

Barrowlands shows a lot of wisdom talking about a path, I would add we never look at the same river twice.  You can't go home again, as the old saying goes.

Hell, SE is still going strong, he has tapped into Bluegrass, Folk, Rockabilly, Punk, Copperhead Road, Guitar Town, Satellite Radio along the way without falling into contrivances and preachiness.

Why not just enjoy the ride, be honest if you don't like his politics - how you feel strongly about his music and don't accept the perspective of an unabashed social critic is beyond me.

And forget this geographic reverse snobbery - the Heartland is not morally superior to NYC,and vice versa ,good things happen all over the place, like it or not.

I totally agree with rmcl and barrowlands.  I so relate to SE and his music (and his politics too), and have enjoyed traveling the path with him, as it were.   He has continued to write timely songs that are relevant in the here and now but still are songs that I know I will still be listening to 20 years from now...just like I still listen to Guitar Town, Copperhead Road, and Exit 0 even though they were produced 20 years ago.  Times change, people change....and if SE hadn't changed when he did, he would not be here today still writing and singing and standing up for what he believes in....he is a man of substance.   He's never pretended to be less.

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"I got me a fearless heart"

And I agree with Unadan

I don't totally agree with Unadan, but I don't totally disagree either. You cannot compare any of his offerings since with TB. It actually got commercial play on the radio. Before that all you EVER heard was Copperhead Road. Jerusalem came out and even my local commercial free station all but ignored it. Had some really good songs, but, again, how to compare. Then came Revolution.... Some good songs, including a Ramones cover disguised as a political song, Still not the all A+++ of TB. The last studio album was just a disapointment to me, I know I'll get a lot of shit for it, but it just is not my enjoyable to me.  I don't think its the politics as much as it is the fact that he has his hands in a lot of other things, such as acting, books and plays. Plus he has not had any woman troubles of late. (good for him, but would probably spice up his songwriting)

 Live I also think he sounds better with the Dukes. I always like the covers that he picks out and especially liked his cover of Nirvana's Breed. That was a fucking ROCK 'N ROLL song people. Best cover since he was doing Dead Flowers in my opinion.

I hear all kind of rumors on his next album. Who knows? He has to finish this tour and all of his other commitments first, but I hope that he does it with the Dukes and comes out guns blazin'!!!!

 See you at the Rock Show!!!

 Brian

rmcl - I respect your opinion.  However, I never said I didn't like his politics.  What I said is this:  "I also believe as Steve has become more political the songs and the albums are noticably weaker" and I stand by it.  I frankly don't care about his politics as those are personal decisions.  I'm not asking for a return to the past I'm hoping for a return of the quality of previous efforts.

Unaden -

You never said you didn't like his politics, but it came through loud and clear.  All of our politics are not just a personal decision, but part of who we are.  I don't think it is rude or out of place to express them on a cd or in concert, though it may not sit right on every situation.

We all go through different stages of life, our lives are not chronicled the same as a public figure, especially one as out front as SE's has been, but we all have that in common.  His songs reflect those changes to an extraordinary degree. It is an age thing and how macho you want to be, whether you want to crank it out on an electric guitar or fingerpick an acoustic, unaccompanied by a band (even one as good as the Dukes) is an artistic choice.

Suggestions to move back to Texas and drop the acoustic guitar don't help much from a quality standpoint in themselves, so I will leave it that, stand by that.

 

 

You're nitpicking on the Texas and acoustic references in my original post.  Some of that is stream of consciousness and tongue in cheek.  I think you understand the main point I was making that the quality of the songwriting and the albums as a whole have been weaker since Transcendental Blues as the focus on politics in the songs has increased. 

Hey if you don't agree thats your right but that's the way I feel.  Iraq and the Bush administration are easy targets so its not a question of me disagreeing with his politics.  I probably agree with 90% of his politics I'm just not oriented towards liking overtly political music.  I was also not a fan of Neil Young's Living with War for similar reasons.  We can agree to disagree on what is good and what isn't as obviously it is personal preference.  When I listen to WSS and TB back to back it is glaringly obvious to me the songwriting has declined.  I don't feel there is a single song on WSS that is even half as good as anything on TB. 

BrianC:

I always like the covers that he picks out and especially liked his cover of Nirvana's Breed. That was a fucking ROCK 'N ROLL song people. Best cover since he was doing Dead Flowers in my opinion.

I can agree with this wholeheartedly. My whole musical world came full circle when I heard him play that song.

 It's amazing the variety of people his music attracts. Rock n rollers, political activists, country folk, stuck up Brit... I mean, people from across the world!  The reason discussions like this happen is because of the diversity and eclectic nature of his work. Do you think people talk like this on ACDC message boards?

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"Think for yourself. Question authority." - Timothy Leary

"The world changed Steve did not."  That seems to be a popular view.  I would however say this.  We had many of the same problems in the 90's that we do today - they're just more at the forefront.  Social injustice, hatred, terrorism, war, Janet Reno, Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc. were all present back then and were not simply manufactured by George Bush.  Hell we inserted ourselves into two conflicts we had no business in - Somalia and Kosovo.  Where was Steve on those issues?

Steve built his career and identity as an individualist, back woods, TVZ influenced, COUNTRY singer who bucked the establishment.  Now he seems to be more of a flat out liberal socialist of the highest order, having forsaken what made him great in the first place.  As the interest in political issues have taken a greater priority, it has undermined the power of his songwriting.  As I've said before, I probably agree with much of what he has to say politically (human rights, death penalty), but when it undermines his songwriting, that's where we part ways.  Maybe a spoken word tour, i.e., Henry Rollins, would be more appropriate.

Unadan:

We had many of the same problems in the 90's that we do today - they're just more at the forefront.  Social injustice, hatred, terrorism, war, Janet Reno, Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc. were all present back then and were not simply manufactured by George Bush.  Hell we inserted ourselves into two conflicts we had no business in - Somalia and Kosovo.  Where was Steve on those issues?

Where was Steve in the 90s? Somewhere in west Nashville, I believe.

Seriously, that's not really a point you're trying to make, is it? Not everyone is politically active 100% right from the start. Maybe he saw all that shit go on and decided to start speaking up after he was clean and straight. My political awareness and activism has been growing over the years. I didn't just wake up one morning at the age of 16 and decide to take on the world. I imagine as Steve's awareness grew so did his voice.

My advice to you man, if you don't like his new material... don't listen to it. I know, revolutionary, isn't it? He's older, he's changed, deal with it. A lot of us feel his songwriting is as strong as ever. We love the commie pinko shit.

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"Think for yourself. Question authority." - Timothy Leary

Right on, kmb117, some of us are so far left we are almost back around to the right - we meet up with our rightwing counterparts on the circle sometimes.

What I Iike about SE and his politics, on cd and live in concert: he is a real guy, not some effete intellectual, who has been rowdy in his youth, taken his lumps and come out the other side.

I don't agree with anyone 100% on politics or much else, but I like people who get on a sopabox every now and then, have something to say, and do not capitulate when told to shut up.

I'm not much into Steve's politics either. But I think Unadan was talking about songwriting/recording qualities, not the topics.

....it's always very interesting to me to read everyone's various opinions about Steve's music. Since I bought all of his albums within a short period of time (about 4 months), I never really got the chance to experience the REAL musical progression of his music, year after year. TB was the fourth cd I bought, and it's amazing, but it's not my favorite.