Transcendental Blues: Steve Earle

The back cover of Steve Earle’s new CD, Transcendental Blues, features a stark, nearly expressionless photo of Earle that could be any mid-forties white-collar professional. But take a closer look at the eyes in the photo; while his face shows no emotion, Earle’s eyes are lit by a fire that pretty much sums up the title of his latest CD and provides an emphatic exclamation point to the five records Earle has released since being released from a jail cell in 1994.

Steve Earle is the poster-boy of the then and now career. His last appearance in Harrisburg was opening for Bob Dylan in 1988 on City Island. Earle was riding that wave of "Copperhead Road," his biggest hit, and still serving up fiery songs from Guitar Town and Exit 0. He seemed poised to break out of his Nashville roots (the Nashville corporate country scene despised Earle because of his refusal to play by their rules) and make the leap to the rock world.

Truth be told, the rock world was where Earle belonged — mainly because of his habits. During the Copperhead Road tour Earle was arrested for assaulting a security guard at a concert in Dallas. Also, by this time Earle’s dabbling in drugs was beginning to take its toll. Following the release of a live record in 1991, Earle fell off the radar screen for several years in a swirl of heroin, cocaine and run-ins with the law. An arrest in Nashville in 1994 for heroin possession slapped Earle with a one-year jail sentence that literally saved his life.

Since his jail release, you might say that Earle has been focused on making music. So focused indeed that, as a songwriter, Earle must now be considered an equal to the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Waits. Earle is now playing in the major leagues, and he deserves to be there. Yes, his early records are good, but starting with 1994’s Train a Comin’ (mostly older songs and covers), Earle found his own voice. Like Dylan, Springsteen and Waits, Earle sports a love-it-or-hate-it voice; but behind that voice are simple three-chord songs with well-worn melodies and simple sad tales about life, love and death.

On the heels of Train a Comin’, Earle released I Feel Alright, a stripped-down acoustic record culled from material written while in prison. While upbeat songs pop up here and there, the general tone of the record is somber until the final song, "You’re Still Standin’ There," a firebrand duet with Lucinda Williams. Earle had buried his prison past and was ready to move forward.

With El Corazon, Earle started to catch the stride that he continues today. Strafing across meditative acoustic numbers, bluegrass raveups, rip-snorting country and straight ahead rock, and featuring guest appearances by the likes of The Supersuckers, Emmy Lou Harris, The Del McCoury Band and The Fairfield Four, Earle finally seemed comfortable playing whatever he damn well pleased. But, as Earle is apt to do, he took a hard right turn in 1999 with The Mountain — an all-out bluegrass release featuring Earle original tackled by bluegrass legends The Del McCoury Band. While the CD probably turned off many listeners more accustomed to Earle’s rock leanings, it only solidified his songwriting skills.

With Transcendental Blues, Earle has released his most diverse and mature release to date. Once again proving his chameleon tendencies, he leans toward the pop world with several songs that recall The Beatles and other pieces that have deep Irish roots. In between, Earle continues to weave timeless stories around perfect melodies.