Dutch version of the country rocker's 2000 album which combines rock, country, punk, bluegrass, and the blues, as only Steve Earle can. First pressing includes a 4 track bonus live CD which features 'Copperhead Road', 'Gal... more »way Girl', 'Steve's Last Ramble'« less
Dutch version of the country rocker's 2000 album which combines rock, country, punk, bluegrass, and the blues, as only Steve Earle can. First pressing includes a 4 track bonus live CD which features 'Copperhead Road', 'Galway Girl', 'Steve's Last Ramble'
CD Reviews
Is Steve Earle capable of making a bad record?
Ken Hart | Ironton, Ohio USA | 06/14/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm beginning to believe the answer is no. "Transcendental Blues" is his fifth release since getting clean and sober. I believe that it, and its predecessors, constitute the most impressive body of work by an American artist over the past 10 years. There's not a doggie among the 15 incredibly diverse tracks on "Transcendental Blues." Earle explores musical styles ranging from Irish folk ("The Galway Girl") to garage rock ("All of My Life") to Byrdsian country rock ("I Don't Wanna Lose You Yet") to bluegrass ("Until the Day I Die"). The disc closes with "Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)", a heart-wrenching recounting of a condemned man's final hours that was inspired by a 1998 execution that Earle witnessed at the request of the condemned man. It is a testament to Earle's songwriting ability that, despite his well-publicized opposition to capital punishment, the song is not the least bit preachy and comes off as much more than a simple anti-death penalty polemic. Well done, Steve. Keep 'em coming!"
THE BEST SONGWRITER ALIVE TODAY?
adam david | new york | 11/29/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first Steve Earle album I bought was Copperhead Road. It was good, and what I was happiest about with it was that I was sure that I would never need buy a Steve Earle record again.Then somewhere along the way I lost it, and rather than replacing it I picked up Ain't Ever Satisfied instead, a greatest hits collection that included the best material from Copperhead Road, as well as a great deal of songs from Guitar Town and Exit O. I became aware of how much I had been missing from this artist, but now that I had the greatest hits collection, hey, I'd never need another Earle album again.Then I bought a Steve Earle songbook that included a lot of the material that I already had, but also included a handful of songs from albums I didn't. After learning the songs - and quickly appreciating their quality and craft - I picked up I Feel Alright and Train A'Comin. Great stuff, even if now my Steve Earle collection was taking up more space than I originally had planned. Still, now my collection was complete.Then I heard a co-worker's stereo down the hall a few years ago. I liked what I heard and asked: it was Earle's collaboration with the Del McCoury band, THE MOUNTAIN. Wth no hesitation, I prompptly went out and bought it. Whew...I've gone on long enough, you know where this going by now: I finally bought Transcendental Blues, and am absolutely blown away. The number of standout songs on here is one thing, but the performances are stellar as well: the attack and bite of "Everyone's In Love With You", the drum pattern on the beautiful "Lonelier Than This", the Pogues-like "The Galway Girl" (Shane Macgowan would KILL to write a song this good these days), the her-honey-to-his-vinegar duet on "When I Fall".It's funny: there are times I think Earle's material would be better if he'd spend more time shaping and crafting the individual songs. But then when I actually am listening, I'm not sitting there going, "That line needs editing", or "That guitar part needs tidying up". It's nothing short of inspiring how prolific and how good Earle's material is. As much as you've goota respect your Leonard Cohens and Peter Gabriels...I mean, c'mon guys, pick it up!The best songwriter alove today? Take a listen to this disc and name one better."
One of Earle's Finest Albums
Jack Chandler | Opp, Alabama | 06/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Any fan of Steve Earle and alternative country music in general should buy this album without hesitation. I have listened to this album in its entirety about 20 times since I purchased it a few days ago. Each track on the album is a unique work of art. As he has done on all of his albums since 1995, Earle manages to equate a wide variety of musical styles to produce a compelling collection of songs. From the upbeat rock 'n roll songs of "Everyone's in love with you," "Wherever I Go," and "Another Town," to the Irish rooted track "Galway Girl," Earle proves that he is truly in his musical prime. In "The Boy Who Never Cried," Earle uses Christian inspiration and Eastern musical influences to crank out a tune that is one of the album's best. I'm glad to see that this album currently ranks as #5 on Amazon's best-sellers. Do yourself a favor and buy the album."
I'm still waiting.........
PD | Melbourne, Australia | 09/24/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well, I guess these days I just get a little bit nervous every time a new Steve Earle album comes out. One of these days, he is going to prove to me that he is mortal, and going to release a dud. Fortunately, this is not the album, and it starts to make me wonder, when am I going to find anyone else that can ever compare to the great man. Transcendental Blues continues to carry me on the roller coaster ride I have been on, ever since I was lying on my bedroom floor at the tender age of 16, and heard Copperhead Road make it's way out of the radio. In the early nineties, I was defintley getting worried, when Steve vanished from our lives, but he popped up in '95 with a little masterpiece, and he has kept the 'pedal to the metal' ever since. His music is able to strike a chord with you, & TB continues in this vein. Steve's Last Ramble & Galway Girl would fit perfectly in any of the Irish theme pubs here in Melbourne, while All of my Life & Everyones In Love With You, can rock it with the best of them. These songs are great to get peoples attention, but it's song's like Lonlier Than This, that really take you to another level. This is where the music communicates with you, in all it's simplicity, and basically becomes your friend and confidante. It goes without saying, that the album covers a myriad of styles, which means you never become tired of listening to it. If you want music to listen to , while you're having a few beers, or when you are home alone without your loved one, or when your cruising the highways, or when you're loooking for inspiration, just throw this in the CD player - it will do the job, and then some. I am not the type of fan that likes to push my musical tastes onto anyone, and I kind of like the waySteve has become 1 ofthegreatest songwriters around, without him having to use any of the traditional marketing mediums to make sales. He's not a pin-up boy, he hasn't got a multi-national corporation creating his image, he doesn't belong to any one type of musical genre, and he doesn't mind sharing his opinions, whether it be controversial or not. What he is though, is honest, hard-working, emotional and down to earth. He also has a gift, which I hope he shares with us for many years to come. I don't care if you buy this album or not. I just hope that one day you will find somone musically, that can be with you, and inspire you to greater things. Steve's the man for me - that's only my experience. Do yourself a favour and go out and experience it for yourself."
"When was the last time someone had such a prolific period, putting out extraordinary albums, one after another? Such a Dylanesque burst of creativity is so rare in a time when a two-year wait between albums is now normal...we haven't seen anything like this since, well, Elvis Costello's first three releases in 2 1/2 years in the late seventies, or Husker Du's spectacular run in the mid-eighties (four albums, including two double albums, in four years!). Steve Earle's fifth release in five years, Transcendental Blues, not only caps off one of the most amazing comebacks in music history, but also has the feel of the artist at his creative peak.After 1999's The Mountain, Earle's bluegrass collaboration with the Del McCoury Band, he has returned to the sound of his 1997 masterpiece El Corazon, with a few tweaks here and there. Which means, of course, that it's not just one sound, but an amalgam of styles which at first glance would seem off-putting and unsettling, but like El Corazon, the songs fit perfectly, meshing seamlessly, as well as retaining similar lyrical themes throughout. So expect more of the same: raucous country-folk road songs ('Another Town', 'Steve's Last Ramble'), melancholy acoustic ballads ('Lonelier Than This', 'Halo 'Round The Moon'), a duet with a female singer ('When I Fall', with sister Stacey), a bluegrass tune ('Until The Day I Die'), flat-out rockers ('All Of My Life'), and a touching political statement ('Over Yonder'). The thing that sets Transcendental Blues apart from Earle's previous releases is the addition of Beatles-like effects and harmonies, most prevalent in 'Everyone's In Love With You', complete with a reverse guitar solo. There's also a return to the Irish-tinged sound of Copperhead Road's standout song 'Johnny Come Lately' on 'The Galway Girl', which, along with 'Steve's Last Ramble', was recorded near Earle's second home in Ireland.Whereas the theme on El Corazon was songs that came straight from the heart, the obvious theme on the new record is transcendence. The title track (and album opener) is the centerpiece of the album, in which Earle muses about the apprehension of experiencing a spiritual breakthrough for fear of disrupting one's own life. He uses oblique, minimalist lyrics to illustrate his feelings: "Happy ever after 'til the day you die/careful what you ask for, you don't know 'til you try"). Musically this is as adventurous as he has ever gotten, 'transcending' the stereotype of being a strictly country singer: the song starts out with synthesizer and tabla-style electronic drum effects with a harmonium in the back ground. An opening acoustic guitar riff plays almost sloppily, with no relation to the synth effects, and then from out of nowhere, the rest of the band suddenly kicks into a steady, thrumming beat with some distorted guitar for good measure. It's a peculiar song, but also one of the best I've heard this year, and one of Steve Earle's best ever.Transcendental Blues is an album that grows on you, and I still haven't decided if it surpasses the remarkable achievement of El Corazon. I do know that Earle has come pretty darn close, releasing an ambitious album containing fifteen wildly varied songs that clocks in at a surprisingly short fifty minutes. If El Corazon was his Highway 61 Revisited, then Transcendental Blues is his Blonde On Blonde.Steve Earle puts it best in his liner notes: "transcendence is about being still enough long enough to know when it's time to move on." Who knows where Steve Earle's Road road will take him, but we'll happily ride shotgun with him, savouring every minute of the journey."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1