Earle takes "The Low Highway"
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 – Steve Earle will release his new album "The Low Highway" on April 16 via New West Records.
The 12-track set is the anticipated follow up to 2011's Grammy Award-nominated album "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive" and is the first billed as "Steve Earle & The Dukes (And Duchesses)."
The album is also the first to feature "The Dukes" band name since 1987's "Exit 0." The Low Highway features his live band consisting of Chris Masterson, Eleanor Whitmore, Kelley Looney, Will Rigby and Earle's wife Allison Moorer and was co-produced by Earle and Ray Kennedy (whose production partnership known as the "Twangtrust").
This will be Earle's 15th studio. It will be available as a single compact disc, deluxe CD/DVD set, digitally, as well as 180 gram vinyl. The track Calico County from The Low Highway is streaming now at RollingStone.com.
Earle said in the liner notes, "I've been on every interstate highway in the lower forty-eight states by now and I never get tired of the view. I've seen a pretty good chunk of the world and my well-worn passport is one of my most prized possessions, but for me, there's still nothing like the first night of a North American tour; everybody, band and crew, crowded up in the front lounge, eating Nashville hot chicken and Betty Herbert's homemade pimento cheese, swapping the same tired old war stories half shouted over the rattle and hum of the highway. And I'm always the last one to holler good night to Charlie Quick, the driver, and climb in my bunk because to me it feels like Christmas Eve long ago when I still believed in Santa Claus. God I love this."
The Low Highway also features Love's Gonna Blow My Way and After Mardi Gras, two songs Earle co-wrote with Lucia Micarelli, his co-star in David Simon's original HBO Series "Treme." Earle played a recurring character, Harley, a street musician who mentored Micarelli's character Annie during the first two seasons. The songs were written specifically for the series and an additional song written by Earle for "Treme," That All You Got? was performed by Micarelli's character with the Red Stick Ramblers during the third season premiere. All three songs are included on the new album and appear in recorded form for the first time here.
On Feb. 29, Earle will release via his own E-Squared Records label, a limited edition 7 inch of the album tracks Burnin' It Down and That All You Got? in support of Independent Music Stores. The record is available on red vinyl and is a limited edition pressing of 1,000. Each cover has been hand-signed by Earle and is hand-numbered.
Earle also signed a two-book deal with Twelve, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group last year. The first will be a memoir and the second a novel. Earle's memoir, the book he swore he would never write, will be a literary work in three acts. The first section will focus on meeting Townes Van Zandt and the complicated friendship and music mentorship that ensued, taking place in Texas and Tennessee. The second section will center on bottoming out in Nashville, culminating in a prison sentence, during which Earle got clean. The heart of the third and final section will be recovery, starting around the recording of the masterful album, "Train A Comin'."
The novel is a work of historical fiction and will tell the story of a runaway slave who survived the battle of the Alamo. Earle previously released a collection of short stories, "Doghouse Roses" (2002, Harper Collins) and his debut novel, "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive "(2011, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
Songs on the CD are:
1.The Low Highway
2. Calico County
3. Burnin' It Down
4. That All You Got?
5. Love's Gonna Blow My Way
6. After Mardi Gras
7. Pocket Full Of Rain
8. Invisible
9. Warren Hellman's Banjo
10. Down The Road Pt. II
11. 21st Century Blues
12. Remember Me
More news for Steve Earle
CD reviews for Steve Earle
The Low Highway
If you're a forever smitten fan of Steve Earle who's always looking forward to his next record, you'll likely be satisfied with "The Low Highway." It's a 12-song collection of strong songs, all stamped with his signature sound.
The title cut is a beautiful, world-weary ballad that narrates a trip along the highways and byways of America. Over a gently rocking beat, Earle crosses paths with empty houses, hungry people and broken factories, a bleak picture that belies »»» |
I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
After Steve Earle's 2007 album "Washington Square Serenade" left some quite cold, his subsequent tribute album to the late great Townes Van Zandt seemed to right his singer-songwriter ship, but then again it's hard to screw up a Townes Van Zandt song.
Thankfully, Earle's new album seems to travel down a dusty, rickety old road in the vein of "I Feel Alright" when the Waitin' On The Sky opens up although Earle's vocals sound like he's somewhere »»» |
Townes
Steve Earle has paid tribute to Townes Van Zandt often over the years. He's recorded a couple Van Zandt songs - most effectively, Tecumseh Valley on "Train a Comin'" - and he dedicated the moving Ft. Worth Blues to Van Zandt. There's the business of his son's middle name and the oft-quoted testimonial about Van Zandt's song writing that involves Bob Dylan's coffee table. But this collection of 15 Van Zandt songs has the feel of a closing statement. »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left –
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»
Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) –
If you didn't realize Steve Earle had a new disc out, "The Low Highway," it would have been no problem realizing that quite and quickly.
That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»
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