Steve Earle Album: “Copperhead Road”

I must admit that I hated Copperhead Road when it came out. I was 17 and if it wasn't punk- it wasn't for me. Oh, how things have changed! I now see this as a nearly flawless effort. This record was a tale of two Earles. Side one(tracks 1-5) are dirty rock songs with a healthy dose of Earle's country/folk(even Irish) roots. Steve was headed for a crash, but he wasn't quite at the wall when this was released in 1988. Three of the first five are still regulars in his set-list today(The Devil's Right Hand/Copperhead Road & Johnny Come Lately). The Pogues play with Earle on Johnny Come Lately(yes, Shane MacGowan is playing a banjo here!). The last five songs are basically ballads with a bit of a charge in them. On the final track, Nothing But A Child, Earle is joined by Telluride. The Jekyll & Hyde nature of this release works for me...it won't work for eveyone(but then, what does?). The dirt that you collect on the first half of this album is cleansed by the longing ache of the second half. Steve Earle never puts the same record out twice. They are all very different...This was his third major release. It was unlike the two before it and nothing like it has come from him since. Earle's diversity and intelligence, along with his wonderful gift for storytelling are what keep his fans coming back, no matter what banner a particular release is flying. This is a great rock album with some radio-friendly songs that get inside your head and aren't easily dislodged. Enjoy. Do yourself a huge favor...check him out when he tours. One of the best live shows I see every year.

What is it? Is it country? Is it southern rock? What is that banjo doing in there? Is this guy an Irishman? Steve Earle continually confounds and tests his audience with his polymathic tastes and talents. Listen to the bagpipe drone that introduces the title tune, "Copperhead Road," which ends with the same bagpipes but in between, employs propulsive drumming and hard-charging guitar. "Snake Oil," the very next track, sounds almost precisely like something Lynrd Skynrd might have recorded in the 1970s. "Johnny Come Lately" sounds musically as though it might have sprung from the hand of a Civil War-era Irish immigrant, yet it manages to be fresh today. Remarkably, all the songs on the album--as on every Steve Earle album--were authored by Earle himself. The guy is amazing.

This is the ultimate country / folk / rock crossover album. There isn't a bad track on it and there are a handful of classics. There are so many reviews on this album that I won't go into too much detail. As a result of hearing this album, I bought everything that Steve Earle has done and the Pogues backing on Johnny Come Lately, saw me buy everything that the Pogues have done!

Do yourself a favour, buy this album now and save yourself some money on delivery by buying Guitar Town and Exit 0 at the same time.

I first heard COPPERHEAD ROAD when I was in the army when some of my friends decided to turn the barracks into one giant party. Somebody decided to put this on, and I had to stop and listen, it totally had me hooked. The next day I went out and bought it and I still pop it into my CD player 12 years later. I am a rock fan, but his blend of rock and country is just mind blowing. This album went with me to the Persian Gulf, during my tour of Korea, and now that I live here in CA. The first SEVEN songs are just classic songs that will get you going: COPPERHEAD ROAD, SNAKE OIL, BACK TO THE WALL, DEVILS RIGHT HAND, JOHNNY COME LATELY, EVEN WHEN I'M BLUE, and YOU BELONG TO ME. These songs are reason enough to buy this album. The last 3 songs are good songs, but to me they lack the punch of the first seven. Like I said before, this album had me hooked the first time I heard it, and very few albums have ever done that to me. So I highly recommend this album for addition to your collection.

If you own one album from Steve Earle this is the one to have. Steve's music is hard to define because he's done so many different things over the years but this, in my opinion, is his best.

What we find is a blend of country, folk, and rockabilly music that can't help but put a smile on your face.

Steve has some pretty good rockers here in Copperhead Road and Snake Oil, but my favorite song is the Devils Right Hand. Simple lyrics sang with a simple arrangement: pure magic.

Out of all the stuff I own from blues, metal, jazz, classical, country, and rock, this is one of the albums I listen to most. It's just got a certain appeal that I can't quite put my finger on. I love it. If you like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr. and Bob Dylan, chances are you'll like Copperhead Road.