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Just an American Boy

Steve Earle - Just an American Boy Audio CD

A fair review of the Steve Earle "Just an American Boy" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Steve Earle reviews here, or go back to the Steve Earle tabs.

Band: Steve Earle
Title: Just an American Boy
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-09-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Audience Intro 2: Amerika v. 6.0 (Tthe Best We Can Do) 3: Ashes to Ashes 4: (Paranoia) 5: Conspiracy Theory 6: I Remember You 7: (Schertz, Texas) 8: Hometown Blues 9: The Mountain 10: (Pennsylvania Miners) 11: Harlan Man 12: Copperhead Road 13: Guitar Town 14: (I Oppose the Death Penalty) 15: Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song) 16: Billy Austin 17: Audience Intro 18: South Nathville Blues 19: Rex's Blue's/ Fort Worth Blues 20: John Walker's Blues 21: Jerusalem 22: The Unrepentant 23: Christmas In Washington 24: (Democracy) 25: What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding 26: Time You Waste (Justin Earle)

A Window In Time
This disc presents a pretty good picture of where Steve and the Dukes were at in late '02 into early '03: telling it as they saw the truth to be and not pulling a single punch. If you've been fortunate enough to see/hear live Steve Earle over the years, then you know how much his live sound has evolved. Sure, there are loads of people that don't want to hear politics blended into music, so you'll find plenty of scathing reviews for this set. I find it difficult to be too critical of Earle's positions, because he presents them from a knowledgeable perspective and he is no doubt a patriot.

But aside from all that, I tend to look at the music without worrying too much about whether I believe every ounce of every phrase he speaks. I allow him to be himslef and focus on what he creates from it. In the case of a live performance, I see them all as a slice of life - a view through a window into time. The topics of conversation between songs can get dated in live shows when big things are happening in the world, but we're still too close in my opinion for these to sound old, so they don't detract from the music itself. So, on to the music. . .

Amerika v. 6. 0 is a strong opening - the sound is pretty true to the live Dukes on a rock tune these days - actually the sound is probably cleaner than what you'd hear live in most halls. Great tune! The cynical theme of the song is an indictment of our country and is not warm, fuzzy or comfy. And I find that to be very appropriate right now.

By the time we get to Conspiracy Theory, I recognize that the band is in its groove. One thing that's obvious to anyone that's seen a Steve Earle show is that he and the band take their space along with them everywhere they go and it permeates the air where they play. By this point in the show, the transformation is complete. The power of the band is presented well - this is an excellent live recording of real musicians playing real live music. It is dynamic and has excellent extension. Crank it up!

Through the next few tunes, the boundaries are framed and the songs provide texture. For example, "I Remember You", a ballad where Steve and Garrison Starr duet on vocals has an excellent balance that is rarely achieved in the studio, let alone live. The banter between songs here is from the same fabric - very personal, about real people's lives and together, "I Remember You" and the talk about living in Texas, perfectly set up the next two tunes (Hometown Blues and The Mountain).

This portion of the show is very illuminating about Steve Earle as a songwriter and storyteller. Hometown Blues seems to be culled from Earle's own real life experiences but it doesn't feel any more real than The Mountain, where Steve writes about a life he didn't live. One of his key songwriting strengths is his ability to get inside of the lives of people very different than himself and extract the core of their souls through the key elements of their existance. He has a rare gift.

Those preceeding tunes, followed by the Pennsylvania Miners banter, are an incredible set up for Harlan Man. First released on the bluegrass CD where Steve partnered with the Del McCoury Band, Harlan Man has had an incredible transormation over the last 7 years. Played in a rocking context with the Dukes, the song is just as real and vital as it was in a bluegrass setting and nothing is lost by rocking it to the core. The band really gets into this tune, it's easy to "see". Incredible. Outstanding. These days, the Dukes rock this tune even harder than they did just two years ago. The music continues to grow through the window in time.

The trail-out of Harlin Man is a mandolin melody that slowly transmorgifies into Copperhead Road and it's a perfect medley partner - another American anthroplogical study that comes across so real, you just know it's autobiographical - but it isn't! Amazing songwriting coupled to a vital performance. Following Copperhead Road, I find Guitar Town to be more than a bit out of place. But the band gets back into the groove quickly, finishing disc 1 with Over Yonder and Billy Austin, both making the dwindling lives of death row inmates seem real and showing how society can turn a deaf ear when adequate excuses exist.

Disc 2 doesn't click for me quite as much as the first and keeps me from giving a five-star rating. Don't get me wrong, I like this music very much and the performances are fine. Maybe it's that John Walker's Blues has never moved me much. So many Steve Earle tunes put me right into the mind of the person he's singing about, but this one has never done the trick for me personally. I've never managed to feel much of anything about John Walker Lindh other than the repulsion for the media that blew his life out of proportion.

The rest of the disc recovers to a degree but in my opinion never matches the power and immediacy of disc 1. "The Unrepentant" is a strong cut, no doubt about it. The Dukes are certainly not short on the kind of fuel required to rock out.

Following "Unrepentant" with "Christmas in Washington" provides excellent contrast and shows the hard/soft technique used often in Dukes shows. The banter gets the croud into it and the sing-along is captured well. Great protest tune and it's followed up with the largest dose of political commentary to set up "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding". No doubt, these words will land on many sour ears, because it's not popular to question political motives these days. Most people want to sit back in the comfort of their homes and forget what's happened the last few years and what's going on right now. I'm the same way, but at the same time, I believe in the process where people that care ask the hard questions and toss them in the faces of those making the decisions that cost lives.

The set is closed out with "Time You Waste", sung by Steve's son Justin. It's a good tune, but I find it a bit of an odd finish to the live show. I'm left to wonder if "Sweet Virginia" or "Dead Flowers" were tossed onto the editing room floor, maybe along with "Revolution" or something similar. I'd bet money that the encores from the shows of this tour (which I missed) had some of that kind of action.

This is a talented band that is dedicated to their craft - and they are a very hard-working, cohesive unit. People going to Steve Earle shows these days get their money's worth and more, that's for certain. If anything can be pulled from this set, it is that the live Steve Earle and the Dukes experience is very real and powerful - and it is a vital commentary on the window into time right here and now.

Based on the Music - 5 more Stars for Independence
kids who obviously have been brainwashed by the government and forced into domination by a brainwashed society. hey kids!

this is the rawest raunchiest alternative southern country rock to hit the market in 20 years!

I use the word "kids" after reading some of the political rants on other reviews.

the idea of America exists only in the minds of people.
the reality of America isn't the same.

Steve Earle expresses himself! - don't you?

in the end
Steve Earle Rocks!
and so does this live album. . . . . . . .

.

Based on this disc Earle could well be the finest example of
Probably the most heralded live albums are The Who's, 'Live at Leeds' and then The Allman Brother's, 'Live at the Fillmore. October 27, 2003
Steve Earle
Just An American Boy
Very Good EXCELLENT but not yet Great

Among musicologists "live" albums are rated separately from studio and greatest hits albums. ' Steve Earle's latest, 'Just An American Boy: The Audio Documentary' deserves consideration as a landmark live album. While rappers have successfully turned their "art" into a money printing bling-bling caricature of the ghetto, it has been a long time since Rock Music has been this dangerous.

This is a two disc set and there is plenty of rambling on the microphone between songs. Make no mistake, while the music is excellent, what makes this record so interesting is that Earle uses his liberal political bantering to tie together his songs and give his performance a sense of continuity. If you are offended by overt political statements you won't enjoy this record; on-the-other-hand, those banterings are what make this album so inspiring: the listener's political beliefs are challenged in the best Woody Guthrie tradition.

In regard to the music, Earle has hit a stride of excellence. Earle is a powerful thought provoking song writer. Like the folk music of the '60's, Earle has tapped into the long forgotten art of anti-war protest. Earle can write "great" songs with poignant words and execute with brilliance. Originally marketed as a country artist Earle has become the political sage of edgy Americana. This record is dangerous because the words and the related call to action & thought are two things that the vapid FM rock music of today has forgotten. Based on this disc Earle could well be the finest example of Americana recording today.
.

5 Stars for Guitar Town, Lose a Star for Each One Since
Which should place this one into negative stardom. . Oh boy, saw him live in NYC in 1997 and it was a disaster. With his talent long since AWOL, he's turned to politics that puts him in favor with the elitists in the recording industry, academia, mainstream newspapers, and well-to-do socialists. Siding with the political issues of agenda setters in the mass media is not brave, folks, and don't pretend Earle is singing for the common man. I've got two words to replace the respect I had for Earle circa 1986: Gary Allan! He's the real deal, and someone who is far more melodic, accessible, and fun. Dwight Yoakam also stands as a lesson to Earle in how authenticity matters.

Preachin' to the choir
Unfortunately, most of his fans, especially the newer ones that probably think 'Guitar Town' is a cute little cover song during his set, lap up his misinformed diatribes and sermons on stage as gospel truth while those there for the music roll their eyes. The problem that seems to plague Steve Earle is that he is not nearly as clever and smart as he seems to believe he is. So, Steve read a couple books about Islam and Judaism and wants to tell you about it. . . he's still against the death penalty. . . . he's an advocate for free speech, although I've been to two shows where he asked people to leave when they asked, 'what about the victims?' during one of his anti-death penalty speeches. Earle is no longer a singer-songwriter, he's an activist that just happens to write songs.

'Jerusalem' was a spotty album at best, and the material does no better when presented live. 'Amerika 6. 0' sounds like an outtake from 'Transcendental Blues', a warmed over and slower 'All Of My Life'. And that is the issue with all of Steve Earle's recent releases, they are uninspired and tired, like he's trying to channel John Mellencamp during his 'Uh-Huh' period or something.

While I don't agree with Earle's politics (as I stated earlier, Earle has no original thoughts or insight, just what he's read and overheard makes it into sound bytes and his songs), and he's a hypocrite when it comes to free speech, I just wish he would go back to writing great songs. I suppose that's what disappoints me the most about Earle these days. Listening to Steve Earle now is like watching a once great athlete fail on the field and come up short. It's sad, it's heartbreaking, but hey, we can all say, 'Remember when. . . ?'.

You can see a complete list of all Steve Earle discography, or go back to the Steve Earle tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.