Bottom Line:
The legacy of parent-to-child inheritance is a trademark of country music, dating all the way back to the Carter Sisters following in their famous parent's footsteps, continuing on now for three generations and more. The focus on the family is, after all, a constant for country music, whether it's siblings (such as Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle) or parent and child (everyone from the Judds to the Hank Williams dynasty). Now enter the son of Texas outlaw and volatile speaker for the people Steve Earle, the astoundingly talented Justin Townes Earle, and what we have is another great country music dynasty.
Justin Townes was named for his father's hero, Townes Van Zandt; and there's a heavy mantle to lay on any would-be troubadour. Fortunately, Justin Townes appears to be up to the challenge, and he even does one better by sounding nothing at all like his father, in either style nor delivery. His debut album from Bloodshot Records draws strictly from traditional roots music, coming off more like Charlie Poole channeling Hank Williams than any Texas outlaw. Is it good? Oh, yes. The boy has talent oozing out of every pore. He wrote the songs, he plays guitars and harmonica, and he sings - indeed, sings very well. He lives up to both famous names, and then some, because he doesn't imitate either of them and stands as his own musician, right off the bat. It's pure country, but carries delicious little hints of other styles and ideas, showing the rich diversity that Earle grew up with, from one end of the country to the other, expanding on those roots and giving them a new feel with an old approach. This music would be quite at home on an analog pressing with a needle scratching homily through the grooves, but it's equally comfortable shuffling on the iPod.
Even the cover of the disc hearkens back to an earlier time. With his slouch hat and guitar slung like a rifle, he bears a startling resemblance to Billy the Kid. His soulful eyes are knowing, older than his face (like his father, he suffered through a self-destructive period, including being fired from his own father's band, but he got his act together). His music speaks that way, too, coming out of the heart of the south with the ballad "Lone Pine Hill" or straight from the soul with "What Do You Do When You're Lonesome." He doesn't try to "live up" to the names he carries, yet manages to do so, anyway, in his own way and with his own voice. There's no imitation, just straightforward, honest-to-analog good music. This is, as I've seen it called in several different places, a "crackerjack" debut. I doubt anyone will ever forget who he was named after, but they'll remember him for more than just his namesake.
Release Date: March 25, 2008 - Label: Bloodshot Records
Song List:
- Hard Livin'
- The Good Life
- Who Am I To Say
- Lone Pine Hill
- South Georgia Sugar Babe
- What Do You Do When You're Lonesome
- Turn Out My Lights
- Lonesome and You
- Ain't Glad I'm Leaving
- Far Away In Another Town
