Steve Earle

Steve Earle is unquestionably the single most important songwriter in the genre we now know as alt.country. An engaging performer and revered singer-songwriter Steve Earle has been responsible for a number of ground-breaking albums that has brought American Folk Music to a wider, rock-orientated audience.

An outspoken political activist, Earle is not afraid to ruffle feathers, and he did just that with his album Jerusalem in 2002. This album dealt with a number of issues resulting from the US-led War on Terror, and The Revolution Starts Now was released to coincide with the run-up to the 2004 elections, defying the mostly conservative country music establishment in supporting the Democratic campaign.

Earle's politics tend to overshadow the music in the eyes of the media, but his constantly growing fan base bears testimony to the enduring quality of his music. From Guitartown in 1986 onward Steve Earle's catalog of music has represented deeply moving and personal songs which move effortlessly in style from acoustic singer-songwriter to rock and back to bluegrass and roots.

A drug user from an early age, Steve Earle's dependency saw him eventually give up recording for a time, and he hit an all-time low doing time for drugs and firearm offences. His release from jail in 1994 saw him kick his habits and return with a clutch of even more diverse and musically satisfying releases. It is a widely held view that had fate dealt Steve Earle a different hand, he would have enjoyed a similar level of success as Springsteen, possibly at the expense of The Boss himself.

Steve Earle

Copperhead Road [Deluxe 2xCD]
Steve Earle