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From the Press Release ...

MP3 - Steve Earle - "To Live Is To Fly"

Los Angeles, CA -- Steve Earle is set to release Townes, his highly anticipated follow up to the Grammy Award winning album Washington Square Serenade, on May 12th via New West Records. The 15-song set is comprised of songs written by EarleÕs friend and mentor, the late singer-songwriter, Townes Van Zandt. Townes will also be available as a deluxe two-CD set, as well as double Limited Edition 180 gram vinyl.

The album was produced by Earle at his home in Greenwich Village, at Sound Emporium and Room and Board in Nashville, TN and The Nest in Hollywood, CA. The track ÒLungs,Ó was produced and mixed by the Dust BrothersÕ John King and features Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine/The Nightwatchman on electric guitar. EarleÕs wife, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Allison Moorer, is featured on backing vocals on ÒLorettaÓ and ÒTo Live Is To Fly.Ó Three songs cut in Nashville, ÒWhite Freightliner Blues,Ó ÒDelta Momma Blues,Ó and ÒDonÕt Take It Too BadÓ feature a bluegrass band consisting of Dennis Crouch, Tim OÕBrien, Darrel Scott and Shad Cobb.

Earle met Townes Van Zandt in 1972 at one of EarleÕs performances at The Old Quarter in Houston, TX. Van Zandt was in the audience and playfully heckled Earle throughout the performance to play the song ÒWabash Cannonball.Ó Earle admitted that he didnÕt know how to play the tune and Van Zandt replied incredibly ÒYou call yourself a folksinger and you donÕt know ÔWabash Cannonball?ÕÓ Earle then silenced him by playing the Van Zandt song ÒMr. Mudd and Mr. Gold,Ó not an easy feat due to its quickly-paced mouthful of lyrics squeezed into just over two minutes of song. Their bond was immediately formed. On Townes, Earle and his son, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle (named after

Van Zandt) trade verses on the tune, a song the two of them have been playing together since Justin was a teenager.

The songs selected for Townes were the ones that meant the most to Earle and the ones he personally connected to (not including selections featured on previous Earle albums). Some of the selections chosen were songs that Earle has played his entire career (ÒPancho and Lefty,Ó ÒLungs,Ó ÒWhite Freightliner BluesÓ) and others he had to learn specifically for recording. He learned the song Ò(Quicksilver Daydreams of) MariaÓ directly from Van Zandt, and taught himself ÒMarieÓ and ÒRakeÓ specifically for the albumÕs recording. Once a song he played during his live show, Earle relearned ÒColorado GirlÓ in the original Open D tuning that Van Zandt played it in. Earle recorded the New York sessions solo and then added the other instruments later on in order to preserve the spirit of Van ZandtÕs original solo performances to the best of his recollection.

When speaking about Townes, Earle stated, ÒThis may be one of the best records IÕve ever made. That hurts a singer-songwriterÕs feelings. Then again, itÕs some consolation that I cherry picked through the career of one of the best songwriters that ever lived.Ó Townes Van ZandtÕs debut album, For The Sake Of The Song, was released in 1968. His last, No Deeper Blue appeared in 1995. His life and songs are the subject of the critically acclaimed 2006 documentary film, Be Here To Love Me. Van Zandt died in 1997 at the age of 52.

While being a protŽgŽ of Van Zandt, Earle is a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and immediately established the term ÒNew Country.Ó What followed was an extremely exciting array of twelve releases including the biting hard rock of Copperhead Road (1988), the minimalist beauty of Train A CominÕ (1995), the politically charged masterpiece Jerusalem (2002) and the Grammy Award Winning albums The Revolution StartsÉNow (2004) and Washington Square Serenade (2007). Earle also produced the Grammy nominated album,

Day After Tomorrow, by the legendary Joan Baez in 2008.

Townes Track Listing:

1. Pancho and Lefty

2. White Freightliner Blues

3. Colorado Girl

4. Where I Lead Me

5. Lungs

6. No Place To Fall

7. Loretta

8. Brand New Companion

9. Rake

10. Delta Momma Blues

11. Marie

12. DonÕt Take It Too Bad

13. Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold

14. (Quicksilver Daydreams Of) Maria

15. To Live Is To Fly

Labels: steve earle

Happy 53rd Birthday to Steve Earle. In honor, here's a video from Letterman in 1988. The video is for his classic "Copperhead Road", but the real jewel of the video is the interview with Letterman. If you want to skip the song, go to about the 4:00 mark to catch the story about why he hated Elvis for years after he died.



As a bonus, here's "I Feel Alright" from 1996:



And as a double bonus here's a rare live clip from a very young Earle with Rodney Crowell singing "Stay All Night":

Labels: steve earle, video of the day

nobody really reads this anymore, but if you do, you HAVE to heard this pitchfork interview with steve earle: .

i was probably 11 when i first heard "guitar town" and it is one of a handful of songs i know almost all the words to. (i could never be a singer or actor, i can't remember lines to save my life.) while there are thousands of more hardcore earle fans than i, i still consider him one of my all-time favs.

so please, i implore, take 15 mins and read the interview. if you think you knew steve earle, this interview will prove that you didn't.

and that's a good thing.

Labels: pitchfork, steve earle