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That's how good it is. I would put this up against anything by Bob Dylan or Tom Petty. If you are new to Steve Earle. This is a great start.
Transcendental Blues is an album devoted to, as Earle's liner notes indicate, going through something. On "Lonelier than This" he states that he's "tired of wearing his heart outside of his skin" and that he's "scared to death we'll never touch again". And so he has delivered an album occupied by songs full of sorrow, regret, loneliness and lost love. Earle veers through varied musical terrain from Beatlesque pop, to bluegrass, to celtic flavored rock to dusty folk ballads and back again.
He doesn't give any easy answers with these songs. Elsewhere he tells a lover that he's "Not ready to lose you yet". Yes, love, loss and the fear that goes along with both run throughout the 15 songs collected here. It's like he says in his liner notes: sometimes transcendence is being able to stay still enough long enough to realize it's time to move on. Thankfully, Earle helps us as well as himself transcend the pain by delivering teriffic music that serves as a soothing balm to the stings and cuts dealt out by a cruel world. Usually something quite painful.
And on "Galway Girl" he poses the question "What's a guy to do when her hair is black and her eyes are blue.". That's not a pleasant sentiment, but thankfully the medicine goes down a little easier with music of this caliber to accompany it. It's easily the most personal album of his career, and also the best. It's eclectic but never to the point of being distracting since it's all held together by consistently excellent songwriting (some of the best of Earle's career) and heartfelt lyrics pulled from Steve's aching heart and given added punch via his grizzled vocal delivery.
Earle maintains his excellent songwriting, penning a pair of great songs in the title song and the album's closer, "Jonathan's Song." The latter, a somber and funny look at his ultimate passing on, is sparse and lovely. In what was his most genre-defiant album since his masterwork Copperhead Road, Steve Earle stuffed "Transcendental Blues" with every idea he wanted to. While casual fans might find "Transcendental Blues" to be a bit too eclectic (I'd suggest El Corazón or Washington Square Serenade as starting points), it is still a solid album. It ranks as one of his best. There's everything from his standard randy country-folk, a bit of Rubber Soul Beatles, a dab of Byrdsian psychedelic folk, and even an Irish Stomper in the concert fave "Galway Girl." However, despite the title, the album is rarely transcendent, even if it does touch the blues at times. TBlues is still pretty much what we Steve Earle fans would expect.
At about the point this afternoon when "I Don't Want To Lose You Yet" faded into "Halo 'Round the Moon", I was reminded again of this simple fact: If anyone has made a better record since, I haven't heard it.He's one of the truly underrated greats. I have all the albums, and they're all exceptional. It's like being asked to pick your favorite child, but for me, "Trancendental Blues" is his greatest achievement. I just listened to this today for the first time in a few years; I'd forgotten how great an album it is.I've been a follower of Steve Earle's career since his first New York City shows, at the old Lone Star, in the mid-eighties. I always try to catch his rare TV appearances. Saw him again as the opening act for Bob Dylan, and again at a rally outside the Republican convention in 2004. I'm a fan of his radio show.
I like him, but I don't assume I'm going to like everything he, or any of my other favorite musicians, records). You've been warned. Are any of those one-star reviewers actually listening to the words. The music is not subtle--lots of drums and heavy guitar--so if you're looking for more typical singer/songwriter fingerstyle guitar, etc., this ain't it. He's not in the same family as John Prine or Jimmy Dale Gilmore or the rest. I can't believe the number of interesting songs on this. (And no, I'm not a raving Earle fan.
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