Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Another Best Record of 2013
I've been known to gush when something hits me the right way. It's also fair to say that when something hits me the wrong way, I pour it on just as heavily.
Stuck between my Bowie exhilaration and my Rundgren distress is my absolute joy over Steve Earle's new record "The Low Highway." I will say, without hesitation, this is Earle's best record. It really is as perfect and as solid as a record gets.
I posted the powerful first single and video a few weeks back. Since then, when I was able to peel the new Bowie off the turntable, "The Low Highway" has been spinning incessantly. Steve Earle can do a lot. He can rock like the Stones, jangle like The Beatles and The Byrds, break your heart like Hank Williams, and spin a yarn like Bobby D. This new record covers all those bases and never loses its cohesion.
I can't find one song on this record that isn't brilliant. The two songs posted here just happen to be two songs that debuted on the HBO series "Treme." The gorgeous "After Mardi Gras" up top, is currently my favorite song of the last 19 months. The groove in "Pocket Full Of Rain" below, kills me as well.
I urge all of you to dig deeper into "The Low Highway,"
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5 comments:
Okay, I'm sold!
But just curious... "my favorite song of the last 19 months." Very specific time frame there. Was there a previous song exactly 19 months ago?
And unrelated, have you heard "Small Town Talk"? Shannon McNally backed by Dr. John and band. Another Best Record contender I think.
Ken, loving the Shannon. And...uh...no real reason for the time frame. 19 just seems like a good number of months.
funny, i was just thinking that Steve sounds more and more like Dr. John.
Best album since the one-two punch of Jerusalem and The revolution . . . IMHO. Thanks for the taste. I'm about to start my third time through on the whole album and it's great!
I have to play this one again. I've had it for the past couple of months and played it a few times and it left me with positive vibes if not me gushing. I have been a fan since Guitar town, but have been left somewhat wanting since El Corazon. Up through that record he could do no wrong in my opinion, but Trancedental Blues on didn't work for me in the same way. Maybe I just didn't give those records a chance to grow on me....
It is however shaping up to be a very good year for music...especially in the American realm. The Kelly Willis/Bruce Robison and especially the Holly Williams are both excellent releases as well.
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