Steve Earle Return of the Living Dead

Rip It Up, Issue 220, 1 December 1995, Page 27

Steve Earle Return of the Living Dead

Steve Earle is back from the (near) dead, both personally and professionally. Just a year ago, that announcement would have been about as likely as the French government turning peacenik, but the continuing rejuvenation of this bad boy country-rocker is a welcome sight. As has been well documented, especially in a typically sensationalist piece in Spin, in early 1995, Earle’s drug addiction and increasingly serious brushes with the law had reached a point where he seemed inevitably destined to wind up in a jail cell or a coffin. Drug possession charges had seen him do time in 1994, and the outlook looked bleak for the singer/songwriter who had such an impact on American roots music in the 80s, via such classic albums as Guitar Town, Exit 0 and the fiery Copperhead Road. Earle seemed to have lost his way down the hard rock road with the uneven The Hard Way, and after the flop live album Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator, he was dropped by his long time label, MCA. For the last couple of years, the rumour mill out of Nashville was working overtime with tales of a destitute and drugged out Earle sinking into oblivion. With typical bluntness, he now claims: “Whatever anybody heard, the truth was worse, and it really isn’t anybody’s business!” He can now ironically refer to this period as “my vacation in the ghetto”. The infamous Spin piece still does anger him.

“I know that writer. When he started the article, I was still on the street and still using, before I went to jail. He was going to publish it whether I lived or died, and by the time it appeared I was clean, out of jail, and trying to get things going again. A lot in that article isn’t true. People who really knew me wouldn’t talk to him, and people who talked to him hadn’t seen me, because nobody saw me then! What bothered me most was he drove up my driveway and bothered my wife and kids while I was locked up. I think I got the word out he shouldn’t try that again!” Success will be Earle’s best revenge upon those who sought to pronounce him dead and buried. The comeback has

begun with him cleaning up his personal act, kicking his habit, and releasing a superb new album, Train A Cornin’, earlier this year. The latter saw Earle return to his roots musically, for it’s a sparse acoustic album, light years away from the high octane guitar assault that drove his late 80s work. As he stressed in the liner notes, however: ‘This ain’t my unplugged record — god, I hate MTV!’ Many of Train’s songs in fact date back to Earle’s late 70s country/folk period, and they include homages to such diverse influences as Texan bard Townes Van Zandt, the Beatles and reggae (a haunting version of ‘The Rivers of Babylon’). Three superb new songs indicated that his much missed muse had begun to burn brightly again, and in our recent interview he sounded optimistic about his creative future. This scribe has interviewed Earle a number of times over the past decade, and it was pleasing to note the traditional feistiness of the fast talking renegade had returned. A recent TV appearance showed that he’s put a few pounds around the middle, but, more importantly, that his distinctive voice is getting back into shape. Earle begins our chat by explaining he’s proud of Train A Comin ’. “It’s the record I wanted to make a long time ago. I always did acoustic songs, and always wanted to make an acoustic band record. It was always just never the time at MCA, but now no one could really tell me not to do it!

“Logistically, it was real easy to make. We [core band of mandolin player Peter Rowan, guitarist Norman Blake and bassist Roy Huskey] just got together and picked for five days. A few overdubs and mixes, and that was it.” Release on Nashville indie Winter Harvest has prevented it getting a huge push, but Earle sees it doing “pretty well”. “It will have a little less appeal than the average record with the Dukes [his earlier band], and some people aren’t going to get it. I mean, Nebraska isn’t the biggest selling Bruce Springsteen record, but it’s my favourite, and he told me it’s his

favourite record.” Enhancing a couple of cuts on Train are the compelling harmony vocals of Emmylou Harris. In turn, Earle got to sing backing vocals and play guitar on Harris’ version of his ‘Goodbye’ on her brilliant new album, Wrecking Ball. “That was a lot of fun,” says Earle. “I saw Larry Mullen [U2], who I knew and has always been a fan of my stuff and hillbilly music in general. And the fact Emmy would even consider doing one of my songs is a compliment. The two favourite cuts I’ve ever had covered are both by Emmy — the other was ‘Guitar Town’.” The pair have a serious mutual admiration thing going on. “He’s one of our great artists,” Emmylou told me in a recent interview. “Train is a terrific album. I play it a lot.” Obviously keen to get back in the swing of things, Earle has already recorded another new album, due out in early 96. “It’s called Silvertone, and all 12 songs are mine — written in one eight month period. As I wrote the songs, we went into the studio and recorded two or three at a time. That’s a little different way to make a record for me, and I really enjoyed it. This is a four-piece combo record, rather than the seven-piece band kind of record I’ve always done.” Long time Earle fans will be pleased to note ace guitarist/producer Richard Bennett returns as producer for most of the album.

“The best way to describe Silvertone is, I distilled it down to the kind of band I used to play in when I was first in bands — two guitars, bass and drums,” says Earle. “Mainly because of the songs, this may be the closest thing to a pop record I’ve ever done. It’s the most melodic batch of songs I’ve ever had. “Lyrically, there are less story songs than I’ve probably ever had on one record. They’re more personal, more relationship driven. Every third record or so you tend to look inwards, and for a lot of reasons this record tends to be more about me than other people.” Whether people speculate about Earle’s

always volatile life (at 40, he’s been married six or seven times!) based on those songs is of little concern to him. “People can draw whatever they want from them. The only thing I worry about is the legal baggage I’ve got to clear up. I’m off probation in another month, but I’ve got another old charge I pleaded guilty on. I’ve done real well on my probation, so there shouldn’t be any problem. But I’ll worry about that before I worry about what people who don’t even know me think of my personal life!” Silvertone will appear on a new label, Mutiny, formed by Earle and fellow Nashville artist Ray Kennedy. They’re seeking a distribution deal with a major label, and Earle sees this as a way of keeping his creative freedom. The mainstream Nashville country establishment has never known quite how to handle Earle, and his no-bullshit stance has often alienated the suits on Music Row.

“As a producer and a partner in this label, I may end up doing more damage and making more noise than I ever could as an artist,” says Earle, who has just finished producing a new Mutiny band called the Viceroys. Besides, he’s not keen to be linked with a country music scene he rightfully calls “the worst I’ve ever seen in 20 years of living in Nashville”. “But there are a few people here doing things not tailored to country radio, a little group that is getting more important in the context of the music biz here, and I think that’s healthy.” As well as getting his personal and creative life back on track, Earle has been able to indulge his addiction to speed (not the chemical kind) on the racetrack. In a recent interview, John Hiatt mentioned seeing Earle, previously known as a fanatical Harley lover, driving a race car in a celebrity race they were both in. “He was joking that he can’t get a real driving licence,” Hiatt recalled. “‘The only kind I can get is a fishing licence,’ he said, holding it up, but he can drive on a track.” Long may he rev!

KERRY DOOLE