Steve Earle – The Warner Bros. Years (2013)
Steve EarleAfter two straight country albums for MCA, Steve Earle made a major breakthrough with 1988's Copperhead Road, which fused his more roots-oriented stylings with elements of traditional rock and metal. Just as impressive, though, was his late ’90s comeback after a prolonged period of inactivity, drug problems and incarceration.
Three of Earle’s albums from the latter half of that decade are coming back into print in a new box set from Shout! Factory. The Warner Bros. Years collects 1995's Train a Comin’, 1996's I Feel Alright and 1997's El Corazón along with a bonus CD and DVD of unreleased live material.
Earle was on the edge of ruin after a conviction for drug possession that led to a stint in jail to get himself clean. He’d not released a studio album since 1990, and hadn’t gone on tour since 1992. Slowly but surely, he began to tackle his demons through songwriting, finding his skills improving with every step toward recovery. The result, Train a Comin’, was released on the Winter Harvest label in 1995 and soon picked up for wider distribution by Warner Bros. Packing strong originals (“Sometimes She Forgets,” “Goodbye,” “Angel is the Devil”) alongside covers of The Beatles (“I’m Looking Through You”) and Earle’s idol Townes Van Zandt (“Tecumseh” Valley”), Train a Comin’ received high critical marks and a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
The strong albums I Feel Alright and El Corazón followed in the two years after Train a Comin’; they too featured killer cuts like “Feel Alright,” “CCKMP” (a haunting reminder of Earle’s drug past), “Ft. Worth Blues” and “Christmas in Washington.” Guests included Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and the Del McCoury Band.
The Warner Bros. Years closes with two live sets: one on CD from Nashville’s Polk Theater (his first since getting out of jail) and a court-appointed show at Tennessee’s Cold Creek Correctional Facility in 1996. (Neither have been commercially released, although the latter was aired on MTV under the title To Hell and Back.) Live at The Polk Theater 1995 features guest appearances by Emmylou Harris and bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, the latter of whom was a surprise even to Earle.
Disc 1: Train a Comin’ (released as Winter Harvest WH 3302-2/Warner Bros. 46355, 1995)
Mystery Train, Part II
Hometown Blues
Sometimes She Forgets
Mercenary Song
Goodbye
Tom Ames’ Prayer
Nothin’ Without You (with Emmylou Harris)
Angel is the Devil
I’m Looking Through You
Northern Winds
Ben McCulloch
Rivers of Babylon
Tecumseh Valley
Disc 2: I Feel Alright (released as E-Squared/Warner Bros. 46201, 1996)
Feel Alright
Hard-Core Troubadour
More Than I Can Do
Hurtin’ Me, Hurtin’ You
Now She’s Gone
Poor Boy
Valentine’s Day
The Unrepentant
CCKMP
Billy and Bonnie
South Nashville Blues
You’re Still Standin’ There (with Lucinda Williams)
Disc 3: El Corazón (released as Warner Bros. 46789, 1997)
Christmas in Washington
Taneytown
If You Fall
I Still Carry You Around (with The Del McCoury Band)
Telephone Road (with The Fairfield Four)
Somewhere Out There
You Know the Rest
N.Y.C. (with The Supersuckers)
Poison Lovers
The Other Side of Town
Here I Am
Fort Worth Blues
Disc 4: Live at The Polk Theater 1995 (previously unreleased)
Mystery Train, Part II
Hometown Blues
The Devil’s Right Hand
Angel is the Devil
The Walls of Time (with Bill Monroe & Peter Rowan)
Sometimes She Forgets
You Know the Rest
I’m Looking Through You
The Rivers of Babylon (with Emmylou Harris)
Goodbye (with Emmylou Harris)
Nothin’ Without You (with Emmylou Harris)
When Will We Be Married
Northern Winds/Ben McCulloch
Copperhead Road
