Well,
I went and listened to 'the Mountain' (Steve & Del) in the car at a decent
volume and I want to ammend my earlier comments. This is a great record .
. . not a good one. Really excellent performances and sounds. ANd the
songwriting, while tailored to the outfit, is first rate as usual.
Which leads me to the (rhetorical?) question: Can anyone top Steve Earle
for artist of the decade??
When you put:
Train a'comin'
Feel Alright
El Corazon
the Mountain
back to back to back to back, and then consider his far reaching influence
as producer/label head/guest musician . . . I would be hard pressed to
choose anyone else (Especially Alejandro, his talent not taken for
granted, but just doesn't match up in my book) for this rediculous honor.
I am sure people will offer many opinions, but can any single artist offer
this combination of talent, songwriting, bandleading, producing, and far
reaching commercial appeal??
Maybe I am a bit early for this discussion, but it is prompted by
the release of The Mountain, so thanks for your patience.
-jim
ps -- I gave the Damnations another spin and still wasn't impressed . . .
while with an additional listening of Kelly Willis 'What I Deserve' I
found myself more and more pleased. Not blown away, but pleased.
pps - 'Rushmore' is IMHO my favorite use of music EVER in a film. The
combination of the original score and the in-your-face AND amazingly
contemporary sounding Stones/Cat Stevens/Small Faces/Who stuff just makes
me crazy with happiness!!
