Audio CD review:
Steve Earle - Live From Austin, TX

Steve Earle - Live From Austin, TX

Band: Steve Earle Title: Live From Austin, TX Rating: Release Date: 2004-11-02 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Sweet Little 2: Goodbye's All We Got Left 3: Guitar Town 4: Hillbilly Highway 5: Good Ol Boy ( Getting Tough ) 6: My Old Friend The Blues 7: Think It Over 8: Little Rock 'N' Roller 9: State Trooper 10: Nowhere Road 11: The Week Of Living Dangerously 12: Angry Young Man 13: Fearless Heart 14: I Love You Too Much 15: San Antonio Girl 16: The Devil's Right Hand 17: Down The Road

Excellent recording ... incorrect reviews THIS disc (and attendant DVD) were recorded in 2000 during Steve's excellent Transcendental Blues tour. Don't be confused by the other reviews here, including the "editorial review," which all are inexplicably transferred duplicates of the Amazon reviews linked to the first "Live From Austin" CD (& DVD) recorded in 1986 during his "Guitar Town" and "Exit-O" years. The music rocks harder (with a much more bottom-heavy electric mix for one of the quibbling transferred reviewers here) and features a truly encompassing song selection from Steve's entire career -- pre and post substance-abuse troubles. Included, finally, is the terrific early composition "Someday" from Guitar Town not performed in the 1986 show, along with selections from the transitional Copperhead Road album and notable inclusions from just about all of his prolific, post-rehab releases from 1995 until 2000. Although it is not always the case with former hard-living performers and artists, to my mind Steve has exploded creatively as a songwriter since his 'bad ol' days' churning out one excellent release after another, ever expanding his own repertoire and thereby the definitions of the Americana musical genre in the tradition of Dylan, Fogerty, Parsons, The Band, Springsteen, and, of course, his original mentors Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. Although his recent output has slowed somewhat from the nearly album-a-year pace we all enjoyed during the mid to late nineties, this year's "Washington Square Serenade" from and about his new home in New York City is a fulfilling reaffirmation of his continually evolving talent and inspiration. I hope that now that he's all moved in to his new neighborhood, we all get to hear more from him -- both on record and on tour (you need to swing back by Denver soon, Steve). . If it's Worth Doing, it's Worth Doing Right... . . but that's not the case here. Steve Earle and the band put on a great show, and fortunately it was recorded, but the sound lacks low end. I suspect the problem is the mastering, and not the recording itself since everything else seems right. This was my first Austin City Limits disc, and it will be my last. There's no excuse for this. Young Steve He left the top and came back to the top. This shows that Steve Earle was at the top of his game before all the self imposed destruction. If you are a fan then you should own this. I am not usally fond of live cds/albums but this is one of the few exceptions. Powerful live view of Earle's landmark early work But that's exactly what this CD and DVD provide with their looks at Earle's 1986 Austin City Limits appearance, expanded from the 30 minute television edit to the full hour performance. One rarely gets the opportunity to re-approach a classic album such as Earle's "Guitar Town" with fresh ears. Riding the crest of his landmark debut, and with half of his follow-up, "Exit 0," in his hip-pocket, Earle lights up the stage with a giddy passion fueled by his incredible initial cache of material. Listeners who've worn out their original vinyl will be renewed by the sparkle Earle brings to the stage. Dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, he looks the role of the dreamers who populate his songs, cruising their pickups and homemade muscle cars through small-town America. This first blush of performing bravado winds the clock back on an album that's become an Americana staple: Earle performs everything from "Guitar Town" save "Someday," and works through half of its follow-up. His band translates the songs to stage with few changes, roughing up a few of the album's tidy edges with live vitality. Whether unwinding the freedom of "Guitar Town" or wallowing in the emotional scars of "Little Rock & Roller," Earle can't help beam with the pride he has in his songs. The closing "I Love You Too Much" and encore of "San Antonio Girl" find the singer wringing every last drop of enjoyment out of his time on stage. Save for a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper" Earle "made all these songs up," and a more compelling collection of vignettes and characters would be hard to find. You can see a complete list of all Steve Earle discography, or go back to the Steve Earle tabs