Steve Earle - Live from Austin, TX
Digging deep into its vaults, the venerableAustin City Limitsoffers this 1986 performance by Steve Earle. The native Texan's series debut finds Earle in the midst of his headstrong breakthrough, drawing from theGuitar TownandExit 0albums that put him at the front of the renegade country pack. Within the former album's title track and other performance highlights such as "Good Ol Boy (Gettin' Tough)" and "Nowhere Road," Earle and his band the Dukes combine country twang with rock dynamics. In his t-shirt and blue jeans, Earle plainly draws more populist inspiration fromBruce SpringsteenthanGeorge Strait, introducing a taut, riveting cover of Springsteen's "State Trooper" as a song by "a pretty good hillbilly singer from New Jersey." Working the stage with the intensity of a prizefighter in the ring, Earle revels in the emotional recklessness of "The Week of Living Dangerously," while tapping the influence of both punk rock andElvis Presleyon "I Love You Too Much." The performance showcases his softer side as well, with the reflective balladry of "My Old Friend the Blues" and the tender lullaby of "Little Rock 'n' Roller" packing as much of an emotional punch as the tougher stuff. With steel guitarist Bucky Baxter highlighting the band, the keyboards of Ken Moore mixed to the front, and the harmony vocals of Harry Stinson tempering Earle's singing, the set presents one of country's most powerful artists at his performing peak.--Don McLeese