I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive Review

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I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive ReviewIn the half-decade since Steve Earle moved from the Guitar Town to Greenwich Village, he has released three albums: one of original material, one composed entirely of covers of Townes Van Zandt songs (Earle's mentor, friend, and as described by Earle, "the best songwriter in the whole world"), and now this, his third NYC-era album and second of original material. For those of us who have followed Earle's albums, we know that with his move to Greenwich Village came an obvious change in the sound of Earle's music. On his 2007 release, "Washington Square Serenade (DIG)," (WSS) not only did he seemingly abandon (for the most part) much of the hard rock sound that had permeated many of his previous albums for a softer, more multicultural sound with occasional hip hop accents, but he also began to record using Pro Tools. The effects of the digital recordings were clear in the loops and beats throughout the album, and frankly, while I found the songs to be strong for the most part, I found the Pro Tools influence to be off-putting and disconcerting at times. Earle's 2009 release, "Townes," found him toning back the digital effects; while still present on certain songs, the album felt much more organic, helped in part by the inclusion in the album's deluxe edition of a second disc including Steve's bare guitar/vocal tracks. Now in 2011 Steve Earle has released "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," (INGOOTWA) an album of original songs that does away with the digital effects that were in his last two albums for once again a more natural, organic sound that resembles his pre-Pro Tools albums.
Country music fans may recognize the title of the album as the final single released in Hank Williams' lifetime, and Earle fans will know that he has a particular fondness for Williams, once proclaiming that even Hank Williams couldn't get played on country music stations nowadays (and that Earle's upcoming novel of the same name partially revolves around Hank Williams' ghost). Given that fondness and the album's title, it's no real surprise that INGOOTWA is probably the most country-tinged album that Earle has released in years. Keep in mind, however, that this is Earle's country, not necessarily Nashville hit radio country. Thus the songs have more of a traditional country sound, have more subdued and contemplative lyrics (not about big green tractors or honky tonk badonkadonks), and, just like Hank Williams' songs(!), aren't incredibly likely to be found in frequent rotation on your favorite country station. The songs openly explore themes of life, death, and struggle, from the multigenerational autobiography (not really) of "Gulf of Mexico" to the tale of an outlaw robbing, killing, and dying all for the love of his "Molly-O" to the religious notes of "God is God" to the harrowing "Meet Me in the Alleyway" (take a guess) to the lamentations of "Lonely are the Free" and the ode to New Orleans "This City," featured in season 1 of HBO's fantastic series Treme (where Earle also has a recurring role as a local musician) and nominated for both a Grammy and an Emmy. Earle's penchant for telling great stories pervades INGOOTWA like the stories that Williams himself used to tell in his songs. The styles of INGOOTWA's songs vary widely, from fiddle-inflected country to Celtic jaunt to backalley blues to Earle's characteristic finger-picked ballads to the horn-accented, acoustic-based album closer. Make no mistake, though; at the core of each song is a country sound, as this album again puts itself up with "Guitar Town," "Train A Comin'," and "The Mountain" as one of Earle's purest country albums.
However, because it is only Earle's second album of original songs since moving to NYC, and because there was such a dramatic shift in his music after he made that move, INGOOTWA bears some comparison to the "Washington Square Serenade" release. Despite its status (in my opinion) as being one of the most country-influenced albums in Earle's catalogue, the songs on INGOOTWA do sound familiar at times. "Molly-O" bears some resemblance to "Oxycontin Blues," while the harmonica punctuations of "Meet Me in the Alleyway" call to mind those of "Red is the Color" and the mood and sound of "Every Part of Me" sound influenced by "Come Home to Me." The quality of the songs I'd say is about on par between the two albums, although there is no song on INGOOTWA as ridiculously catchy as "Steve's Hammer (for Pete)" (the closest would be "Gulf of Mexico") and no song as unbelievably beautiful as "Days Aren't Long Enough." The closest, I think, is "Lonely are the Free," which isn't a good comparison because it's not a duet. The duet on the album between Earle and his wife Allison Moorer, "Heaven or Hell," is good, but pales next to Days... if you ask me. "Little Emperor" is, however, a great foot stomper all on its own. Some of these songs have been heard elsewhere as well: "This City" (aforementioned), "God is God" and "I am a Wanderer" (both recorded already by Joan Baez, although written by Earle; the latter is another beautiful standout track), and "Lonely are the Free" (previously used in the film Leaves of Grass). The difference between the two albums, however, and this makes a big difference, is that as I mentioned INGOOTWA does not have an obvious digital sound to it. I don't find myself noticing drum loops and effects on INGOOTWA as I do on WSS, mainly because they aren't there, or if they are they aren't anywhere near as obvious. Instead the T. Bone Burnett-produced album feels like an organic album played by real musicians with minimal alterations, which will make an enormous difference to some people. And as I also said, there is a definite theme to the album. Whereas WSS sounded more like a collection of Steve Earle songs, INGOOTWA sounds more like a cohesive Steve Earle album, and both the album and the listener benefit because of that.
My overall verdict on the album is this: if you buy anything Steve Earle puts out, you're going to buy this anyway, so buy it and enjoy it. If you liked his sound on WSS, the songs themselves are written in many ways in a similar manner; they just don't have a Pro Tools influence way up in front. Contrarily, if you hated the sound of WSS, give this a try, because the Pro Tools sound of WSS is gone on this release. Is this album as good as Earle's pre-NYC releases? In my opinion it's not, at least as concerns "Transcendental Blues" and earlier. However, the man has been writing and playing his own songs since the `70s, and to still put out an album this strong is an impressive feat indeed. My opinion? Buy this album. Steve Earle is an artist who still puts a great deal of passion into his songwriting and his craft, writing and recording what he wants, not what he thinks people want to hear from him or what people ask him to record. That takes guts, the same kinds that are on display in "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive."I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive Overview

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