Washington Square Serenade (+DVD) - Steve Earle

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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: Giving country a well deserved facelift
Disadvantages: -

...The term country these days has achieved the same status as the term folk when applied to music, derision, beligerance and dismissal. One envokes images of cowboys and linedancing, the latter beards, pipes and arran sweaters. Well for those that dig deep enough in the fringes of these genres there are some unexpected rewards to be found, and none moreso than Steve Earle. Earle seems to have grown up back to front, most artists begin as boistorus young tearaways full of angst and calm down to a quieter period in there later years. What you have with this man is an artist who has become more pushy and rebellious with age, to the point where by the time of Copperhead Roadthe young country guitarist had been replaced by the Harley riding, leatherclad, tattooed troubadour. Image aside, what do you get for your money. Well the style... Read review

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