May 21, 2009

Steve Earle - Coppertown


Steve Earle - Coppertown

Before he was a voice of reason on "The Wire", Steve Earle was writing some of America's most cogent and politically charged folk rock. I had known of his work for some time, but never took the plunge. You know how it goes.

Discovering illegal downloading changed this, and finally allowed me to pursue the fringe of my interests by removing stinginess as an excuse. Don't get me wrong, I think buying music is important. We spend money everyday on things we resent, so why not occasionally drop some bills on something like music - an item whose sole purpose is to give us joy? I feel that small, upcoming artists need my money, whereas Earle doesn't. But I could be wrong on both accounts. My point is that I would have waited months before I could financially justify buying this album, and it's an all around good thing that I didn't have to.

Rhetoric aside, Coppertown is as solid an album as their could be. The vibe is consistent, the songs are strong, and the lyrics are as pure as the salt Earle himself comes from. Though it is certainly not for everyone. Indie rock fans may be turned off by the overtly radio-ready production. It's true that certain songs scream "John Mellencamp's opener". But make no mistake, this is much smarter than anything that makes it's living on FM or John Mellencamp's coat-tails.

No comments:

Post a Comment