Hard Way, The - Steve Earle & The Dukes

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...Many musicians turn into hard living party animals once they have got used to the fame and adulation that success has brought them. Steve Earle, however, lived his life with the controls set on maximum even in the days when he was a total unknown. His fame came despite his wild ways and unwillingness to compromise and to the other way around. In some ways he has lost out because of his need to stick to his guns, the level of fame he sought came to him later than most and he missed some of the opportunities that have been offered to the likes of Ryan Adams who seems to be a worthy pretender to Earle's throne both musically and in his lifestyle. That said because of his ways he has made the music that he wanted to make and not had to water down his vision in the way that his contemporaries, Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffiths felt obliged... Read review

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Advantages: Great Country Music
Disadvantages: Not Great If You Don't Like Country

...I love proper country music; the crofts of my home in the Highlands of Scotland are only a stones throw away from the dirt farms of the mid-west and southern US. There has always been a big country following in Scotland one could argue that the music has similar chord structures to that of proper Scots folk music or that the themes of desperation, social isolation, religion, suicide and loyal dogs that get killed in horrific accidents strike a chord in the Scottish psyche, but I am not going to go down that path here……….. This is the Steve Earle who did that song called Copperhead Road and upset a few folks by releasing a song written from the point of view of a Taliban fighter. What a bad boy but I think that if you cannot see the other sides point of view then you will never reach them, unless you blow them into tiny little bits... Read review

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Advantages: Eleven stunning songs.Subtle genius pop songs
Disadvantages: none apart from the fact that it leaves you wanting more

...'Steve McQueen' is one terrific album.It has often popped up in best '100' albums ever.and MOJO once called it 'the finest slice of 80's thinking boys pop you will ever hear'. I would rank this along Lloyd Coles 'Rattlesnakes' and Aztec Cameras 'High Land Hard Rain' as the definitive eighties guitar pop.It was music that shaped the direction music was going to take for the next decade.Albums that paved the way to indie music as we now know it. So who were Prefab Sprout? Well they were a four piece based in Newcastle. Paddy McAloon main singer/song writer Martin McAloon Neil Conti Wendy Smith Together they lovingly crafted this beautiful record,eleven tracks long. Tracks 'Faron Young' Its hard to believe that this song started as a metal track.It was a backlash at country music at a time when... Read review

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