Steve Earle Album: “Together at the Bluebird Cafe”

... I quickly bought the album and liked it immediately. It was recorded in 1995, not long after Earle got out, appears to be after Train A-Comin' but before I Feel Alright. It follows the same quiet, acoustic folk sensibility as Train A-Comin'. It is not a rowdy album at all, more like Earle, Van Zandt and Clark are sitting in your living room trading off songs with nothing but their guitars. The three obviously know each other very well and are very relaxed, so the songs flow very easily and naturally, and that by itself is a huge benefit to the album. Included are a few Earle standards like "My Old Friend the Blues" and "I Ain't Ever Satisfied", though the one drawback is a clipped version of "Copperhead Road", which is the finale and the rowdiest this album gets (which is really not at all). The best songs in my opinion are "Valentine's Day", this version of which I think far surpasses that on I Feel Alright, "My Old Friend the Blues", "Mercenary Song" and "Tecumseh Valley", Van Zandt's song that Earle did on Train A-Comin'. Townes's songs are very touching and you can easily see his influence on Earle. Clark not quite as much, but the variety is great, and he of course is another big influence of Earle's. Another nice touch is the introductions to songs - they are funny and add to the atmosphere.

If you are an Earle fan (or Van Zandt or Clark), then buy this immediately, you won't regret it. You get a good dose of Earle and his direct influences. I'd rank it better than Transcendental Blues, but not quite up there with the other four recent albums. But then again, it's different, so not directly comparable. If you have never heard Steve Earle before, this is not the worst place to start, but not the best either. It all depends on what you are looking for - if it's more towards folk, get Train A-Comin', then maybe this one; if you're more of a rock fan, go for I Feel Alright, then move to El Corazon. I recently created a new Earle fan out of a friend at work who plays guitar - I played him "Taneytown", as another reviewer said, "the best Neil Young song ever, not written by Neil Young". Long live Steve Earle!

Three living legends: Steve Earle, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zandt (at the time of this recording - Townes has since flown away) sittin' around, pickin' and grinnin' and story-tellin' - and you are there. You can't help but love everything about this set, and if you've never known anyone in your life with the good ol' Texas troubador personality shown here, you'll sure wish you did. I've had the good fortune of knowing like-minded folk over the years, and it's just as much fun and just as precious as it sounds.

Buy this disc. You'll have three instant new friends with talent and humor and sorrow and humanity overflowing.

And, for Townes, to paraphrase Lucinda Williams...you were too sweet for this mean ol' world.

I cant believe any of you whiners that dismiss this album as poor. Sure, Townes is loaded, but do you want the truth or do you want some polished puke? Townes Van Zandt is spreading the love on this one, and you can hear how the audience responds not only to his songs, but his stories, which by the way, make me laugh over and over again.

This is honest, not perfect, and beautiful.

Though recorded in 1995, and released originally in 2001, "Together at the Bluebird Café" is one of the two best CDs I've heard all year (the other is a compilation of Serge Gainsbourg hits from the late 60s, if that gives any indication of the range of my tastes...). Featuring the triumvirate of Texas troubadours--Guy Clark, Steve Earle, and the late Townes Van Zandt--in the intimate setting of a small Nashville benefit, apparently taking turns with the same acoustic guitar, it shows each of them at the best of their lyricism, their musicianship, and their showmanship.

Though singing and storytelling duties are shared equitably among the three performers, the real star of the show unquestionably is Steve Earle, for whom this concert serves nearly as a re-introduction to the music scene after having served hard time briefly for drug offenses (and in the process kicking an awful heroin addiction). It is somewhat hard for me to believe from today's vantage point, but when this recording was made he had only 5 albums to his credit, the most recent of which was "Train a-Comin'." His performances here very much continue the folksy and rootsy spirit of that album; his best guitar playing in this concert is his solo version of "Tom Ames' Prayer."

As much as this album represents the beginning of Steve Earle's "second act," it equally signifies the swan song for Townes Van Zandt, who passed away about a year and a half later. Earle is famous for having once said that Van Zandt was the best songwriter living and he would stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in his cowboy boots to prove it. (Van Zandt's response was more eloquent: "I've met Bob Dylan and seen his bodyguards, and Steve Earle could never get near his coffee table.") Van Zandt is a great songwriter and his work is best served in this acoustic, intimate setting, but a more accurate analogy would be that he is Woody Guthrie to Earle's Bob Dylan; he is the precursor, and Earle is the fulfillment of the vision. Indeed, Van Zandt was a brilliant but fragile talent, equally blessed with inspiration and cursed with self-destructiveness. It is to Earle's credit that finally at this moment he had decided to follow Van Zandt's talent and abandon his demons, but Van Zandt himself was never able to move past that crossroads.

Guy Clark's playing and singing on this album, as always, is understated and exquisite. If you don't know his work already this album is an excellent introduction. If you do know his songwriting, he's seldom sung so beautifully as he does here.

As much as this album provides a magnificent, "dream team" showcase of Steve Earle and his two primary precursors, the performance as a whole grows thanks to their collaboration. They are each as gifted as storytellers as they are songwriters, and one imagines that in an earlier age they might have made their living as both in equal measure. Although Earle in this respect excels as much as he does in every other element of the performance, Van Zandt's story about how he came to visit the Interfaith Dental Clinic for which this concert served as a benefit will make you laugh and wince even the 20th time you play this CD. And you will want to play it at least that often, and many many times after that. It's that good.

This CD captures an incredible intimate performance by three of America's greatest singer-songwriters. Acoustic and delightful, the songs--and even the between-song banter--are a joy to listen to. If you enjoy Earle, Van Zandt, or Clark, you've gotta have this album. And if by some chance you haven't heard music from any of these three legends, this is the perfect introduction to their wonderful talent. (Note: Don't worry that this album is being released by a small label...the sound quality is A+.)