That soon segued into his performance of “Rich Man’s War,” a song off the rowdy album, The Revolution Starts Now, from 2005 with lyrics (“Jimmy joined the army ’cause he had no place to go / There ain’t nobody hirin’ ’round here since all the jobs went down to Mexico”) that remain relevant today.
“The first comments (Obama) made to me that attracted me to him was that he promised he’d get all these kids home from Iraq,” Earle said. “And he’s trying to do that; I really believe he’s trying, but he hasn’t done it yet. And my nephew is going (overseas) very, very soon. So it’s personal.”
Moving away from politics for a moment, the 54-year-old Earle (at left back in the day with Van Zandt) recalled the cherished time he spent with Van Zandt, the highly regarded country/folk artist who died in 1997 at age 52 after years of substance abuse. (Rent the excellent 2004 film Be Here to Love Me on DVD to see a compelling documentary of his life.)
“Most of the record was me and a guitar in my apartment in New York City and I recorded the songs solo and then I added all the other instruments later; and the reason for that was, this record for me was based on my memory of Townes performing these songs when I (at age 17) first met him as much as it was his records or any of his later performances.
“I found out I’m a lot more Townes Van Zandt than I thought I was. The way I play totally comes from Townes. It becomes more obvious to me every day that I go out and play these songs now. And I’ll be doing that for the next year. It’s been and will continue to be a really interesting journey.”
Regarding Van Zandt’s “Lungs,” Earle said, “This song I’ve been playing for longer than any of them on a regular basis. It’s the one that actually was altered the most by the time it became a record. Maybe because I’ve been playing it the longest and felt like I needed it to shake it up.”
Assisting in the makeover to the raucous recording of “Lungs” on Townes were the Dust Brothers’ John King, who produced and mixed it, and Morello on electric guitar.
On the sheet music after it was published, Earle said, “Townes had little notes of his own that said, ‘This song should be screamed.’ ”
What really got the Colorado audience yelling was Earle’s finale. He already has a strong fan base there, making numerous visits to the state over the years. His extensive 2008 tour with Moorer included a summer stop at the Boulder Theater in support of his-and-her records (his being Washington Square Serenade, hers the delightful Mockingbird, with cover treatments of songs by an amazing array of female artists such as Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Jessi Colter and Gillian Welch).
Article comments
1 - ashley
GREAT JOB. Reading this I felt as if as was there. I don't agree with Steve's politics but I do love his music.