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Title: just ok
Review: I'm willing to give this some more listens, but on first go through, I'm not particularly impressed by this CD. Some reviewers suggest that some of Earle's earlier material is better, so maybe I should check out some of that stuff. Anyway, I became aware of Steve Earle through the "if you like ..., you'll like ... " I just don't understand the grounds for all the rave reviews given. His songs are more interesting than the straight Nashville commercial releases, but I don't believe his material compares favorably with some others in the alt country genre. For example, I just don't feel that Earle's songs hold a candle compared to those of James McMurtry, an Austin based country-rocker. A fair bit of Mcmurtry's material rocks just as hard as Earle's, but JM's material has much greater thematic range and vividness of character and narrative. Try out James McMurtry's "Too Long in the Wasteland", "Candyland" or "Walk Between the Raindrops".
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