Country and its many sub genres is not something I'm over familiar with which I think makes it hard to judge this album. I don't know enough about the rules and conventions to know if this is good, bad, revolutionary or whatever so I'm just judging on whether or not I like it which seems inappropriate for a work of art. The artist says "here is my heart, my soul, my craft" and my response is a snarky comment and a shrug of the shoulders because of genre. It doesn't seem fair for me to be so dismissive.
I remember when To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar came out and reading the rave reviews about how good and revolutionary it was. To me though it just sounded like what I expect rap to sound like. So I asked a friend who is into rap if it was everything that I was reading it was and he raved about how much of a game changer and step up it was. Still sounded like rap to me. So I decided to figure out the genre but couldn't even get past To Pimp A Butterfly due to the language and rap itself tending to be a lot about the rapper.
Obviously I should not be policing rap music (as an old english white guy) but i wish it used less bad language, less misogyny, less glamorization of gangsterness and drugs. I also wish it was less about certain streets and the artists themselves. It gets in my way.
Guitar Town throws up many of the same walls. I don't get the genre and it's referencing stuff i can't relate to. It is too much about the artist leaving a small town and not enough universal stuff. I guess this is genre stuff though and whilst "hillbillly" is a much less offensive word than the strong stuff found on To Pimp A Butterfly (that I can't even bear to type) it still throws up the same wall. This is not for me.
I don't always need to see myself reflected in the music - one of my favourite albums is about Illinois which I'll never visit and that references landmarks and places I'll never see. One of my favourite songs is an overblown gay breakup song and I will never experience a gay breakup with anything like the emotion of the singer but I can understand breakups and it's evocative enough to me to convey that feeling.
I'm struggling to find merit in this album but also there is nothing wrong with it. All the parts are fine but never mae a satisfying whole. I enjoyed the reverb on the vocal on Down the Road and to be honest the rest of the album is fine vocally. Steve Earle has a good voice - nothing wrong with it but also nothing that connects with me specifically. The acoustic guitar sound is generally more robust and earthy than i'd prefer but I guess fits the genre.
My Old Friend The Blues is nice but is it taking comfort in blues as a style of music or in feeling depressed? I'm really miserable but I know how to be miserable so that's ok?
Little Rock and Roller get's me a little emotional thinking about my own son and it feels like an authentic moment rather than what is a genre convention but the intro reminded me of Your Gorgeous and the electric piano (or whatever it is) sounds super twee.
Nothing else in the album really stood out to me. I wish I liked this more and if I knew more about country I think I would. So the fault is my own ignorance. It's a 5 from me but it's a "could try harder" to me and not Steve Earle.
