Audio CD review:
Steve Earle & the Dukes - Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator

Steve Earle & the Dukes - Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator

Band: Steve Earle & the Dukes Title: Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator Rating: Release Date: 1991-09-17 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Intro - Steve Earle, 2: Good Ol' Boy (Gettin' Tough) - Steve Earle, Bennett, Richard 3: Devil's Right Hand 4: I Ain't Ever Satisfied 5: Someday 6: West Nashville Boogie 7: Snake Oil 8: Standin' on the Corner - Steve Earle, Rodgers, Jimmie [1] 9: The Other Kind 10: Billy Austin 11: Copperhead Road 12: Fearless Heart 13: Guitar Town 14: I Love You Too Much 15: She's About a Mover - Steve Earle, Sahm, Doug 16: The Rain Came Down 17: Dead Flowers - Steve Earle, Jagger, Mick

Live album with overdubs It gives the CD a strange sound, like someone playing along to their favorite songs. This is a live CD that has been overdubbed in parts due to "technical difficulties". This is Steve Earle just before he fell completely over the deep end. Normally, that might not be a bad thing. People like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan have actually lost thier spark once they cleaned up. Sad to say, but some of the greatest music of all time comes from the drug addicted, including Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. But, the problem with Earle is that he may have been too far gone. The other guys kept it under control and let it out in their music. Earle is paranoid and edgy. Because of the sound problems and the performance, this not a great live CD. I think the studio versions of these songs are much better. Earle does have a lot to say. But, I'm not sure that I always agree with Earle's good ol' boy, loser, paranoic view that the world is out to get you and that there is nothing you can do. I am also not so sure about his anti-death penalty stance. I don't favor making sympathetic characters out of murderers. . Not one of Earle's best Get Guitar Town and Copperhead Road if you want to hear most of these songs done in a studio. There is a generous amount of music--over 74 minutes which is a lot for the typical Steve Earle CD but you can find better renditions of these songs on his other CDs. Also, I had eagerly anticipated hearing Earle's version of Dead Flowers but it isn't nearly as good as the original by The Stones. Raw and ragged The band is just going through the motions and Earle's voice is at its most ragged, but it still remains an interesting time capsule of where Earle's career was at the time and some of the songs really thrive in the live setting. This is a loose collection of live Earle music circa 1991. A good summation of Earle's earlier work and glimpse of an artist close to the edge of self destruction. Probably not the best example of his ability but an intriguing look at an artist whose life has had more than a few ups and downs. Interesting Live CD A live reference to an incident in Ottawa points to Earle's growing spirit of social conscienceness. Recorded during a Canadian tour of the early 90's, this appears to be a fan's dream: a greatest hits package recorded live with Earle and the experienced Dukes performing at their peak-Earle, however, was in the depths of his drug addiction during this tour, so the performances are restless at best. His stellar writing rescues this project, with new tour staples such as the anti-death penalty anthem "Billy Austin," the auto-biographical "I'm The Other Kind," and "West Nashville Boogie," (all from "The Hard Way") providing shining moments. A teasing "Guitar Town" is tell-tale: there are only shreds remaining of the exhuberant 27-year-old laureate who took the country and rock communities by storm only 4 years earlier. Most frightening is a transcending, gut-level version of Jimmy Rogers' "Blue Yodel #9," showing that Earle remembers from whenst he came, but leaving the listener wondering where Earle is going. Or if he'll survive the journey. One of my favorite live-recordings ever. The set is stellar and the Dukes just flat-out rock live. This is THE essential Steve Earle recording. Steve may have been a strung-out addict at the time but he sure does deliver. In fact, there isn't a trace of half-assing here. He does it all with heart and the gruffness in his voice gives tunes like "Billy Austin" an even bigger impact. I really loved the live version of "the Rain Came Down" and "Fearless Heart" has never sounded better. This is one of the first cds I ever bought (I was eleven) and after a decade, it has yet to lose it's charm. The only difference, is now, I'm quite a bit older and the songs have much more meaning. You can see a complete list of all Steve Earle & the Dukes discography, or go back to the Steve Earle & the Dukes tabs