Steve Earle
(and the Del McCoury Band)
The Mountain
(E-Squared)
"I wish I was as sure about anything
as Bill Monroe was about everything," Earle writes in his liner notes to this, his fourth
post-prison recording. Personally, I'm glad the guy has his doubts. Monroe's certitude spawned
a musical form so prissy and precise it more often than not comes off as hillbilly heavy metal.
Earle, on the other hand, has something much, much better on his hands with The Mountain.
Billed as his putative "bluegrass" album by the artist himself, it has about as much in
common with the form as Chuck Berry shares with Steve Vai. From the autobiographical
"Texas Eagle" to the Guthrie-esque "Leroy's Dustbowl Blues," Earle's
wet-leather vocals and aggressive, underappreciated guitar work keep the proceedings loose, wild
and, ultimately, more soulful than anything you'll find in the bluegrass canon since "Blue
Moon of Kentucky." His best of the '90s.
Rating: 8
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