Following on from the laid-back ‘Train a comin‘ and the upbeat ‘I Feel Alright ‘ albums, Steve Earle continues his regeneration with the wonderful ‘El Corazon‘ (the heart in Spanish) album.
A collection of 12″ superb tracks slipping from simplistic acoustic (Christmas in Washington) to sprightly C & W (I Still Carry You Around) to stirring Rock ‘n’ Roll (Here I Am) with ease; this is Earle’s best collection of songs since the wonderfully titled live album ‘Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator‘.
Love songs intermingle with politically charged tracks and road songs from one of America’s finest, yet vastly under rated, lyricists to combine to give the listener a brilliant trip. Stand out tracks for me are the swaggering ‘ Taneytown‘, thrusting ‘N.Y.C.‘, beautifully crafted ‘Poison Lovers‘, soaring ‘If You Fall‘, the intimate nakedness of ‘Christmas in Washington‘ and the thundering ‘Here I Am‘( the best track on the album).
The anger and hurt shines through the lyrics, as does the love, sentiment and honesty, and Steve’s emotive vocals add to the whole feeling of the album to convince me that he is on an upward curve and that there is still more great stuff to come from Mr. Earle.
Taken from Scotland Calling (Scottish Music Network)
