Mountain
Even if it does begin with a jokey incantation of the Mickey Mouse theme song ("M-I-C-K-E-Y..."),The Mountainis Steve Earle's most traditional album, pairing country rock's most notorious miscreant with the best working band in bluegrass. Earle was inspired by a chance meeting with the late bluegrass pioneerBill Monroe, and this is his self-declared stab at musical immortality. It is easy to imagine these 14 songs sounding as good 40 years from now as they do today. The mood varies widely from triple-time breakdowns to bluesy shuffles to meditative waltzes, but there's not a missed note or strained chorus anywhere. As Earle states at the outset, "If you want to be in the band, you have to put your hat on," and the one he's wearing, at least figuratively, is 10 gallon-plus.--Keith Moerer