A rebel with a taste for booze, bad drugs and run-ins with the law: Nine Steve Earle albums you should listen to and one to avoid
Louder recommends nine Steve Earle albums spanning his country-rock breakthrough, post-rehab comeback and later politically charged work.
– Guitar Town (1986): his literate, blue-collar country debut.
– Exit O (1987): a rougher, band-led follow-up with The Dukes.
– Copperhead Road (1988): a rockier, genre-blending breakthrough.
– Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator (1991): a ragged live record.
– I Feel Alright (1996): a personal and forceful comeback album.
– El Corazon (1997): political, personal and stylistically varied.
– The Mountain (1999): bluegrass recorded with Del McCoury’s band.
– Jerusalem (2002): a provocative post-9/11 political record.
– The Revolution Starts Now (2004): a pointed state-of-the-nation album.
- Nine albums trace Earle’s musical range and turbulent career.
- Copperhead Road is presented as a key crossover record.
- Later releases combine political anger with strong songwriting.