Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life (Album)
» Justin Townes Earle Australia tour - September 23, 2008
It’s difficult not to hold some degree of sympathy for Justin Townes Earle; not only is he the son the original ‘Hardcore Troubadour’ Steve Earle, he’s also named after Townes Van Zandt, one of the most respected (at least in country circles) songwriters of the last century. It’s possible that the pressure not having to live up to not one, but two names did affect Earle- he’s struggled with, as he puts it, ‘unhealthy habits’- but the formidable legacy that precedes him also feels like his biggest strength. Although his own man, Earle Jr’s debut CD, The Good Life, there are shades of his father and Van Zandt.
Perhaps the 21st century version of the protagonist described in the Allman Brother’s Ramblin’ Man, Earle spins troubadour tales that sound like a troubled Van Zandt. Taking a lyrical road that is less ideological and more individual that much of his fathers work (think something like the older Earle’s excellent I Feel Alright), Earle Jr crafts personal –but not quite introspective- tales over old-timey country music.
In a (some cynics would say rare…) display of judicious production, The Good Life features little electric instrumentation. The subdued Lap Steel Guitar and Drums give the chance for Earle and his Live At the Old Quarter-esque flatpicked guitar to shine.
This, combined with Earle’s Pomade tainted voice, make the record sound like it’s from the early twentieth century, rather than the early 21st. In fact, on songs like What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome, Earle sounds more like the fifth Soggy Bottom Boy than one of country’s promising current songwriters.
Rather than his fathers whiskey absorbed voice, Earle Jr sounds mellower and cleaner. Possessing a voice that can embody both vulnerability and strength with ease, his performance on The Good Life sounds polished beyond his age.. His voice, combined with the his ragtime country sensibilities ensure that, should Bordellos ever make a comeback, both he and his band will be booked up for months.
Earle espouses themes of bitter optimism and skewed morality throughout The Good Life’s ten songs that deal with loneliness, traveling and trouble with women. Just as he sadly saunters through his current situation, Earle is brimming with anxious optimism. The Juxtaposition works well; Earle sounds troubled, but never totally out of control.
On South Georgia Sugar Babe he leaves bad memories to meet a lover (presumably in South Georgia…) over a musical backdrop that vaguely recalls lighter Allman Brothers (think a slightly more upbeat Melissa). Meanwhile, on Faraway in Another Town, Earle’s somber tale of loving and leaving sounds like a Gold era Ryan Adams track.
The albums highlight, the civil war era Lone Pine Hill is a Van-Zandt esque tale of a fallen Virginia soldier. Over a sparsely flat picked guitar, Earle conveys a starkly beautiful narrative of lost love and the futility of war.
If anything, The Good Life is too short. With only two songs of the ten making it over the 3.30 mark (and even then, they’re both at 3.32) it’s an exercise in minimalist brevity.
Just like the –still thoroughly enjoyable- Who Am I To Say, the album ends just as it’s starting to get good.
Still, it’s an early contender for country record of the year.
