Driving into work this morning I heard a couple of tracks off the new Steve Earle album, Washington Square Serenade. The DJ, perhaps my least-favorite local radio personality, provided the backstory that Earle and his fellow musician wife (I could look up this woman’s name and stick it in here, but I’d just be spitting out information insincerely and without regard to what’s really on my mind) now live in New York City and that the album was produced by Dust Brother John King. The two songs she was about to play were songs in which Earle was “looking back” on his life. I’ve noticed, since peeking around this morning, that one of the promotional themes of this album is that it’s more personal, less political. I can’t tell you if the “p” in personal is supposed to be upper or lower case, but the first song the DJ played was called “Oxycontin Blues”. It started with an Appalachian acoustic guitar hoedown that seemed ready made for Rene Zellwegger‘s character in that film with Nicole Kidman and Jude Law to take a swig from a bottle of moonshine, hike up her skirts, and do a little jig. It was promising alright until Mr. Dust Brother pressed Play on the drum machine. From that point forward, the ominous canned beat made a mockery of the song’s Southern setting. The almighty beats, in this song, these blessed beats that critics will point to as a feature of this album, are the equivalent of that 3-note riff that signifies an “Asian” setting in bad ’60s movies and the cartoon Hong Kong Phooey. No wonder a Southerner still has trouble catching a break up north.
Steve Earle, “Tennessee Blues”
The next song was “Tennessee Blues”, a very pleasant look back at the Steve Earle of Guitar Town. Not a difficult song to like, but there’s this nagging feeling that Dust Brother John King put about a 10th of the effort into the song’s beats as did the guy who pressed Play on Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” all those years ago. Come on, man, it’s 2007. You’re telling me this simple Steve Earle song needs the whitewash of a drum machine in the background? Are people incapable of hearing a song without the gentle stroke, stroke, stroke of a drum machine beat? Christ, were electronics also involved in the making of this album?
Steve Earle, “Way Down in the Hole”
Here’s another track from Washington Square Serenade, a cover of Tom Waits’ “Way Down in the Hole”. One quick question: Is this necessary?
If you go to Steve Earle’s MySpace page, you can hear a couple more songs, “City of Immigrants” and “Satellite Radio”. Two more songs wiped clean of any potential personality by the producer’s beats. Two more examples of a country boy getting dazzled and duped by his first extended taste of The Big Apple. Go ahead, Steve, bite the Big Apple. Don’t mind the maggots!
I haven’t gotten this record yet (Amazon says it’s on its way), but from what I’ve read Earle worked at home on this material with his own Pro Tools rig. I’m not sure what the Dust Brother dude did, but I don’t think the beatz were imposed or overlayed on Earle’s music.
The Waits cover is obviously not “necessary,” but I read that the connection is that it’s the theme song from The Wire and Earle is an actor on that series.
Earle does have a minor, semi-recurring character on The Wire, which uses a different version of “Down In The Hole” as the opening theme every season. Waits was used for Season 2.
JIB? Dance a jib?
Dipshit Northerner.
Great One, are you logged into the mirror site or something? If not, I suggest you get your eyes checked.
So, has anyone checked out these tracks? Anyone think the beats add anything to Earle’s music? Don’t fear: The Cool patrol is off duty.
I’m a big Earle fan, and I’m reluctant to sample the tracks, because the CD is wending its way to me this week. There’s a nice long interview with him in Pitchfork today. He doesn’t talk much about the album (which I’m sure drives his publicist crazy), but he does say this:
I agree with you, Mr. Mod; on “Tennessee Blues,” the beat never changes, even in the chorus where it should change.
I’m not a real big fan of drum machines (unless it’s supposed to be a dance track); they seem a poor substitute for either a human drummer who can play with the song or leaving out a drum track altogether.
I like Steve Earle, but mostly because I like his politics and what he talks about. Musically, even though I like that countrified post Skynyrd southern get down, I just have a hard time getting my head around Steve Earle’s music, and that bugs me. I heard some of Satellite Radio on Alex Bennet’s show today, and they laughed at at. I didnt think it was that bad, but I can understand not being able to get behind those beats at all. I thought they really wrecked it, but then again, I didn’t see too much potential in the song anyway.
I haven’t had time to check out these tracks, but I’m not a significant fan of Earle’s music beyond the early records, and even those I like rather than love. For awhile now there’s been something overproduced and not quite catchy about his tunes; they’ve got all the elements that I should like, but I don’t. There’s an ex-con meets NPR vibe that I just can’t get past. I almost typed PBR meets NPR, and that fits too.
But if I’ve just got an anti-Earle thing that I should get over, I’d appreciate someone showing me the light–and I don’t mean PBR lite, damnit, because he’s already got that.