The first two things I wrote were Guitar Town and Down the Road, because I was looking for an opening and an ending. So I wrote ’em like bookends, and then filled in the spaces in the middle. And the album’s kind of about me. It’s kind of personal.
~Steve Earle (to Alanna Nash – May 1986)
Guitar Town was his first shot at showing a major audience what he could do, and he hit a bull’s-eye — it’s perhaps the strongest and most confident debut album any country act released in the 1980s.
~Mark Deming (allmusic)
“Everybody wants to be somebody’s something Ain’t nobody wants to be blue”
Transcendental realism: “…is a concept stemming from the philosophy of Immanuel Kant that implies individuals have a perfect understanding of the limitations of their own minds.” (-wikipedia)
Blues: “…refers to the “blue devils”, meaning melancholy and sadness…a depressed mood.” (-wikipedia)
Transcendental Blues: A philosophy that implies individuals have a perfect understanding of their own sadness and the limitations of their own minds (- me)
“transcendence is about being still enough long enough to know when it’s time to move on.” (- Steve Earle, liner notes)
Transcendental Blues (the song, live ACL):
“…what truly makes this one of Earle’s best records is that he refuses to be pulled down by musical decisions. It’s as if he never faced a problem of whether or not to add this or that instrument, or to veer off in this or that direction. He simply had the idea and went with it.” – Ryan Kearny, Pitchfork
Galway Girl – Steve Earle (live 2000):
This is one of Earle’s albums that I play the most (together with El Corazon), it is varied and all the songs are good (some are great). It sometimes reminds me of Johnny Cash, sometimes of the Beatles at their melancholy best. He references Harrison’s “Indian-style” music on the first (and second) track, and old-time droning blues on this and other tracks. He dips into celtic/irish folk music and he even touches heartland rock and bluegrass. As I said it’s an eclectic mix.
Steve Earle has a keen ear for melody, and the lyrics are as always good.
Everyone’s in love with you – Steve Earle & The Dukes (live, Leno 2000):
And last, but not least, the fantastic song, Over Yonder (Jonathan’s song):
Transcendental Blues (Spotify):
– Hallgeir
Sources: Allmusic, Pitchfork, Liner notes, Wikipedia
The first two things I wrote were Guitar Town and Down the Road, because I was looking for an opening and an ending. So I wrote ’em like bookends, and then filled in the spaces in the middle. And the album’s kind of about me. It’s kind of personal.
~Steve Earle (to Alanna Nash – May 1986)
Guitar Town was his first shot at showing a major audience what he could do, and he hit a bull’s-eye — it’s perhaps the strongest and most confident debut album any country act released in the 1980s.
~Mark Deming (allmusic)
Guitar Town:
Wikipedia:
Released
March 5, 1986
Recorded
Sound Stage Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre
Country rock, Americana, Texas Country, heartland rock, rockabilly
Length
34:35
Label
MCA
Producer
Emory Gordy, Jr., Tony Brown
Associate Producer: Richard Bennett
Guitar Town is the debut album from singer-songwriter Steve Earle, released on March 5, 1986. It topped the Billboard country album charts, and the title song reached #7 on the country singles charts. Earle was also nominated for two 1987 Grammy Awards, Best Male Country Vocalist and Best Country Song, for the title track.
Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left on Austin City Limits September 12 1986:
The album was recorded in late 1985 and early 1986 in Nashville, Tennessee, at Sound Stage Studio. Overdubs were later recorded at Nashville’s Emerald Studios. It was one of the first country music albums to be recorded digitally, utilizing the state-of-the-art Mitsubishi X-800. Each of the album’s ten tracks was either written or co-written by Earle.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 489 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2012, the album ranked at #482 on a revised list. In 2006, it ranked 27th on CMT’s 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music.
Someday (Live on New Music Awards 1986):
Track listing:
All songs written by Steve Earle unless otherwise noted
