Copperhead Road: Rarities Edition

Performer: Steve Earle
Producer: Steve Earle; Tony Brown
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Steve Earle was on a roll in the mid-1980s; crashing onto a dilapidated country scene with his rock-influenced vitality, he turned out three classic albums in three years. His third, COPPERHEAD ROAD, is possibly the most accomplished. Here Earle streamlines his roughneck country-rock sound for maximum impact, and hones his sociopolitical songwriting to balance perfectly with his more personal offerings. The title tune, a tale about a Vietnam-vet drug-runner, was a surprise crossover hit, widening Earle's pop profile. "Devil's Right Hand," another Earle signature tune, is as powerful an anti-gun song as you're likely to hear. Earle was growing musically as well; he's backed by Irish folk-punks the Pogues on "Johnny Come Lately," and by bluegrass supergroup Telluride on "Nothing But a Child," hinting at the eclecticism of his later releases. With COPPERHEAD ROAD definitively proving his consistency, Earle permanently ascended into the upper echelon of American singer/songwriters, leaving the early "country Springsteen" claims behind forever.

Rolling Stone (p.86) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Tony Brown's bright heartland-rock production provides a stark contrast to Earle's gritty lyrics....[Earle's] passionate, solo-acoustic delivery of Bruce Springsteen's 'Nebraska' is sublime." Q (Magazine) (p.121) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he title track and 'The Devil's Right Hand' remain Earle staples..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, p.43) - "...The best of his early albums, characterized by the rock hard 'Devil's Right Hand' and 'Snake Oil'..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Its real strength still lies in the performances of Earle and his band, matching superbly rough-edged musicianship with heartfelt emotion in a way which brings to mind the very different but equally committed matching of Neil Young and Crazy Horse."

Steve Earle did for country in the 1980s what Waylon Jennings did for it in the '70s--released it from the shackles of commerciality and overproduction by introducing a bad-ass, rock-friendly outlaw aesthetic. Besides his talents as a singer/songwriter, Earle is a producer/entrepreneur who's worked with many other artists (some on his own label) and helped foster a new wave of progressive country. He's also a dedicated political activist who's done much for a variety of progressive causes.

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