Steve Earle Album: “Ain't Ever Satisfied: The Steve Earle Collection”

Back in 1986 I purchased the debut albums from three country artists that I thought were going to help put some integrity back in country music. Those three artists were Dwight Yoakam (Guitars, Cadilacs, etc., etc.), Randy Travis (Storms of Life) and Steve Earle (Guitar Town). While they didn't succeed in eliminating the pop excesses of what passes for country these days, they all provided a reminder of what quality country music could and should sound like.

Of the three, Earle has had the rockiest journey over the intervening fifteen years. But it's only made Earle's music all the more honest and effective. In fact, his last three albums have been among the best of his career.

This two-CD set covers most of the highlights from his five albums for MCA between 1986 and 1991. It duplicates all of the 1993 single-disc collection, The Essential Steve Earle, and adds 15 additional tracks including live recordings of "West Nashville Boogie," "She's About a Mover," "Dead Flowers" and the Bruce Springsteen cover of "State Trooper" which was previously only available as an EP. It also includes all but two of the tracks from Guitar Town, arguably his best MCA album, along with the strongest tracks from the other three studio albums: Exit O, Copperhead Road and The Hard Way.

Earle can at turns be traditional country on songs like "Hillbilly Highway," then rock out on a song like "Copperhead Road," and then join the Pogues for the Irish folk-influenced "Johnny Come Lately." And it all makes for enjoyable listening. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Like Dwight Yoakum, Steve Earle is a true blue country artist who preferrs to work outside the orbit of Nashville. Earle's gritty guitar chops and confessional storytelling remind you of a rural Bruce Springsteen (a point he brings home by covering The Boss's "State Trooper") on this album. "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" is an excellent comprehensive anthology of the first decade or so of Earle's career. It is interesting to hear the transistion from disc one to disc two as Earle's songwriting and storytelling became even more ambitious. Most of the classic album "Copperhead Road" is included on the second disc. For those who have yet to be initiated to the man and his music, this is a great place to start.

For his earlier stuff, you're not going to get a better compilation on two cds. For your money, this is the one to get. It has virtually all the tracks from "The Essential Steve Earle" and "Fearless Heart". All the classics like "Guitar Town", "Copperhead Road", "Nowhere Road", etc. plus a live version of "Dead Flowers" from "Shut Up and Die..." They're all here and I know I've mentioned this before, but if you're new to Steve, this is the best place that I can think of to start without breaking your bank.

Now the stuff that he's done in the last ten years, that's a different story. Once you've broken this one in a little, then pick up "Train a Comin'", "I Feel Alright" and "El Corazon". Let those sink in and then work yourself up from there. Then again, if you're already a fan, then you know all of this.

This is my first Steve Earle album. I became interested in Earle's music on the endorsement of Shawn Colvin (who does a wonderful take of "Someday" on her "Cover Girl" album, by the way) and this seemed a great way to get familiar. It is.

This two CD set aptly illuminates the musical changes that have taken place in Steve Earle since his earliest recordings. He certainly has two discs worth of wonderful, and often fantastic, material and this set does not disappoint.

If you haven't decided which Steve Earle album to buy first, I can certainly recommend this one.

Pretty good survey but not enough music to justify the price. And, everyone makes such a big deal about the 4 live cuts, but they've all been released before. "State Trooper" is from Guitar Town; and the other 3 are from Shut Up and Die Like An Aviator, which at 77 minutes, is a good deal.