Transcendental Blues

iTunes Review

After years filled with a rock star's indulgence and the aftermath of recovery, Steve Earle packed everything he'd learned so far, both in his turbulent personal life and in the ascending arc of his singer/songwriter odyssey, into this varied bag of original tunes. Falling between the humble, just-here-for-the-tradition bluegrass of The Mountain and the mouthy political activism of Jerusalem, and lacking a truly weak song, the musical balance he strikes here among country and rock, bluegrass and Celtic is striking and fully effective. The title track with its Beatles-y sitar and hand-drum opening, builds into a powerful beginning. "Another Town" is yet another chapter in Earle's ever-expanding journal of rocked up, guitar-driven anthems. "Steve's Last Ramble" scratches his bluegrass itch, while "The Galway Girl" nods towards his fondness for Celtic music and the Emerald Isle. Earle's best instincts and greatest gifts as a songwriter--not to mention soft heart and capacity for self-examination--come together in the bittersweet, "I Don't Want To Lose You Yet." Not surprisingly, he chooses as his coda the tender melody and intricately detailed lyrics of the Death Row tale, "Over Yonder (Jonathon's Song)."