U. Texas-Austin: CD REVIEW: Steve Earl and the Del McCoury Band's 'The
Mountain'
* 02/25/99
(c) 1999 Copyright U-Wire. All Rights Reserved.
By Will Furgeson, Daily Texan (U. Texas-Austin)
* AUSTIN, Texas -- Singer-songwriter Steve Earle has never been content
to stick with one type of music. Earle started his career in
rockabilly, moved to country, then developed a rock sound on 1988's
Copperhead Road. He got sidetracked with a drug addiction, but came out
of rehab in 1994 and further expanded, recording with the likes of the
Supersuckers and the V-Roys. In his latest incarnation, Earle has
enlisted The Del McCoury Band to back him up on The Mountain, a
* bluegrass album that finds Earle covering new ground yet again.
The sheer talent of the Del McCoury Band alone could make this a
* strong album. Regarded as one of the leading forces in modern bluegrass
music, the group creates an authentic sound with their skilled
instrumentation, but the main reason The Mountain works is Earle's
songwriting. His ability to write heartfelt music that exploits the
* strengths of the bluegrass genre without resorting to tired and
overused
cliches gives the album a distinctly modern sound while preserving
musical tradition.
On the title track, Earle tells the story of a man and his connection
to his surroundings, showing his ability to use a common theme (man's
companionship with nature) to produce a moving and original song. The
album contains many other great songs, such as "Pilgrim," a song Earle
wrote for the funeral of a close friend, but the high point of The
Mountain is "I'm Still In Love With You," a tender duet between Earle
and Iris Dement. The limitation of Earle's nasal drawl is exposed when
matched with the angelic quality of Dement's voice on this beautiful
tale of lost love and misunderstanding. But as a testament to his
songwriting, the listener gets used to his voice over the course of the
album and grows to like it.
For all the superb songs on the album, there are unfortunately some
duds, such as "Paddy On The Boat" and the obligatory open road song,
"Long, Lonesome Highway Blues." Despite these few weak songs, the album
* is a strong example of bluegrass music at its finest.
In The Mountain's liner notes, Earle praises the work of one of his
primary influences, the late, great Bill Monroe. He goes on to confess
that his goal for this album was to write at least one song that would
* become a part of the rich history of bluegrass music, a song that would
* be performed at bluegrass festivals long after he was dead. After
listening to the album, one can't help but think that Earle might have
* succeeded. Anyone who thinks that real bluegrass died with Monroe need
only listen to this rich collection of songs to know that the future of
the genre is in good hands with gifted musicians like the Del McCoury
* Band and songwriters like Steve Earle.
