"Transcendental Blues"
After Steve Earle redrew a handful of
musical maps with 1997's El Corazon, it was surprising to hear
the troubadour team with Del McCoury on the unabashed bluegrass
set The Mountain. In truth, El Corazon paved the way for Transcendental
Blues. Here Earle returns back to the sprawl of El Corazon. There's
Spartan, yearning folk in "Over Yonder," boot-scooting
'grass on "Until the Day I Die," and ear-pinning rock
on "Everyone's in Love with You." Earle rescues the
connection between Ireland and American traditionalism with the
mandolin-driven "Galway Girl" and even seems inspired
by fables with "The Boy Who Never Cried." Earle shows
again and again that he's a consummate indexer, demonstrating
how American music crisscrosses distinct styles. As a singer,
Earle is alternately snarly, wispy, guttural, and earnest. In
short, he's able to shake the ear with a fresh musical twist
and then settle the listener with all the broad-minded smarts
he's relied upon since his mid-'90s comeback. --Andrew Bartlett |
