Guitar Town

iTunes Review

Already a ten-year veteran of the Nashville songwriting scene by the time his debut album, Guitar Town, was released in 1986, the Virginia-born, Texas-reared Steve Earle was well-versed in what it took to make a song tick. The influence of his Texas mentors Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark can be heard all over Guitar Town, particularly on “My Old Friend the Blues,” a bittersweet ode to depression. With its barroom country rock and tales of working class relatives, small town regrets, and highway freedom, Guitar Town could almost pass for an album of Bruce Springsteen songs — it’s hard to hear “Guitar Town” or “Someday” and not imagine Springsteen belting out his own muscular version. Yet, Earle’s heart is more country than Springsteen’s ever was. He is completely at home on traditional-sounding material such as “Hillbilly Highway” and “Think It Over,” which absorbs the spirit of both Ernest Tubb and Sun-era Elvis. Most of all, it’s that voice. Earle wasn'tt the only musician working with roots music in 1986, but his gritty Texas twang gave every song kindle and conviction.