Hardcore troubadour Steve Earle has returned with I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, a T-Bone Burnett-produced album which Earle is calling his "most country" in years, which is appropriate as it takes its name from an old Hank Williams song. With Burnett at the helm and Earle's recent streak of Grammy wins, one can almost sense the folks at the Grammys prepping a Best Country Album award but it is more likely that Earle will be nominated again in the Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album category as, with nods to folk, Celtic, bluegrass and blues, I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive is not strictly a country record. Fans of Earle's more politically charged material and/or his defiant cow-punk persona will need to be patient as he has again strayed away from those stylings and is focused on quieter songs and the themes of love and mortality. Interestingly, the album will also be accompanied by Earle's first novel of the same name which tells the story of a doctor haunted by the ghost of Hank Williams and a morphine addict. It is unclear whether the album and novel share any concrete connection outside of the Williams reference and general theme of mortality though.
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive opens with two tracks that see Earle delivering on his promise to provide his "most country" work in years. "Waitin' On The Sky" is a rollicking country song that benefits from Burnett's production which makes the song feel timeless; like it is coming directly from a truck-stop jukebox. It's also the first example of Earle's exploration of mortality, as it sees him "searching for the holy grail" and "waiting on the sky to fall," lyrically. "Little Emperor" follows and sees Earle exercising the sharp tongue that defined his earlier country output. Both tracks are album highlights, but are the only offerings Earle provides for fans of his straight-ahead rockers. Tracks "Gulf of Mexico" and "Molly-O," on the other hand, are the low points of this collection and border on embarrassing for someone of Earle's caliber; on both tracks Earle adopts a sailor-like persona to match the Celtic flavor of the songs, with very awkward results.
The album gets back on course with "God is God," a track that, along with "Lonely Are The Free" and "I Am A Wanderer," showcases Burnett's subtle production contribution, and focuses on capturing Earle's raw performances. On "Meet Me in the Alleyway" Earle strays from the country theme and slides into a megaphone-heavy blues groove. "Every Part of Me" is a stirring love song, no doubt written for wife Allison Moorer and could easily have been included on Washington Square Serenade. "Heaven and Hell" sees Earle returning to the male female country duet format, collaborating again with Moorer to beautifully express the aches and pains of love. The album closes with the Emmy nominated "This City," written for the television series Treme, which benefits significantly from an unexpected horn part and sees Earle taking on a familiar world-weary, underdog persona.
Despite the fact that I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive deals largely with questions of mortality, it never feels burdened by this heavy subject matter. Since marrying in 2005, there has been a shift in Earle's songwriting away from the politics that defined 2002's Jerusalem and 2004's The Revolution Starts… Now and the outlaw persona that defined 1996's I Feel Alright and El Corazon (1997) towards a more positive outlook, which has benefited the material on this record. I'll admit to a craving for the defiant, pissed off Earle, but I'm sure that personality will resurface. For now, I'm content enjoying another great batch of songs from an artist who continues to evolve and deliver consistently solid records.
Artist:
www.steveearle.com/
www.myspace.com/steveearlemusic
www.facebook.com/SteveEarleMusic
www.twitter.com/steveearle
Album:
I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive comes out via New West Records on April 26, 2011. Pre-order it here on Amazon .
