| All Artists: Steve Earle Title: Revolution Starts Now Members Wishing: 2 Total Copies: 0 Label: Rykodisc UK Release Date: 1/13/2008 Album Type: Import Genres: Country, Alternative Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock Styles: Americana, Singer-Songwriters, Roots Rock Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 014431702327 |
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Search - Steve Earle :: Revolution Starts Now
 | Steve Earle Revolution Starts Now Genres: Country, Alternative Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock Earle rushed The Revolution Starts ... Now to stores ahead of the 2004 presidential election, and given that timing and the songwriter's righteous lefty stance, the disc's topical content should surprise exactly no one. Ev... more » |
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Amazon.com Earle rushed The Revolution Starts ... Now to stores ahead of the 2004 presidential election, and given that timing and the songwriter's righteous lefty stance, the disc's topical content should surprise exactly no one. Even still, it's light on invective, allowing Earle's deftly drawn characters to make his points for him. Plainspoken people swept up by larger events, they include the truck-driving protagonist of rig-rocker "Home to Houston," who dodges rockets while running supplies in Iraq, the disaffected vet in "The Gringo's Tale," and the American soldiers and Palestinian boys whose lives run parallel in "Rich Man's War." At times, Earle is less artful, and the going gets patchy: the title cut is a guitars-blazing call to arms, but "Warrior" (a ponderous spoken-word piece that apes Shakespeare), "F the CC" (a ragged denunciation of culture cops), and "Condi, Condi" (a faux-reggae mash note to Condoleezza Rice) don't hold up as well. Interestingly, the less-pointed material finds the cantankerous crusader at his best, as on the aching Emmylou Harris duet "Comin' Around," a late-night barroom blues called "I Thought You Should Know," and the hopeful closer "The Seeker." There, Earle slips in one last, subtle message: "There's a new day tomorrow and maybe I'll hold, something brighter than gold to a seeker." --Anders Smith Lindall Similar CDs
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CD Reviews3 stars for about 4 good songs.. Christopher Barrett | Chickamauaga, GA United States | 02/28/2007 (3 out of 5 stars) "This is an overall forgettable album when you compare it to any of Steve's other work. "Rich Man's war" "Home to Houston" and the title track are up to standard, the others are b-side fillers, and they sound like it. Earle did this entire albumn in a short span and quite hurridly, so it does make sense. The fact that he wrote a great anthem "F the CC" and a excellent anti-war song "Rich Man's War" is a true testiment that this guy can write good songs even in a hurry." The Revolution stalls out Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 03/21/2007 (4 out of 5 stars) "Before the no votes start piling up, let me put this upfront. I really dig Steve Earle. To my tastes, both "Copperhead Road" and "El Corazon" are five star records. But "The Revolution Starts Now" was a rush job and sounds it. I even saw Earle on tour for this CD and he was a big a firebrand as ever. I also worked in Nashville when he was trolling the gutters, begging for change and trying to kick. Steve Earle is an artist I have long believed worth hearing through thick and thin.
"The Revolution Starts Now" is part of the thin. Recorded in a hurry to beat the 2002 elections (a lot of good that did...sigh), it also meant that songs that may have been left off with a little more time stayed on the CD to beef the running time. The pseudo-Shakespeare of "Warrior" wears out after a couple of listens, and "Condi Condi" is pointless. Add the reprise of the title track and you have a pretty good EP with a load of filler. But Earle on an off day beats 90% of artists at their peak performance. "The Revolution Starts..." kicks the CD off with a glorious racket worthy of any good protest-rally song. Even the obscenities gleefully barked out during "F the CC" are as big a slap at radio as you've ever heard. Not like Earle gets play these days...rightwing Clear Channel wouldn't even touch the non-threatening Dixie Chicks music. I would find it hard to imagine a genuinely inciting country-folk diatribe like "Rich Man's War" getting airtime next to Carrie Underwood. Or Toby Keith, for that matter. Trying to wrap the parallel paths of expendable boy soldiers like Jimmy or Ali from either side of the line would probably be too much to ask from a crowd that craves "We will stick a red white and blue boot up your a**," would it not? Same for the mercenary on the run in "The Gringo's Tale" or the hapless Haliburton employee stuck driving truckloads of gas in "Home To Houston." The message is blunt, but the songs aren't. That is what makes Earle a master craftsman. When he puts away the politics for "Coming Around" and the splendid "I Thought You Should Know," you get the reminders of what made Earle a genius to watch back in the days of "Guitar Town" and "Exit Zero." If this was a seven song EP, I probably would have given it four stars. Sadly, this is less an album-as-a-piece and more like a batch of songs jerked together. The lame tracks hold the affair down to three and 1/2. I am even willing to goose it just to counter the looney rightwingers that post a one star review without having as much as listened to the CD. But if you want to hear a rabble-rouser at full throttle, the best songs on "The Revolution Starts Now" will stir your pot." |
