Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade

Yesterday I went to see Steve Earle in Paradiso, Amsterdam. He started out with a lot of golden oldies, no Dukes in sight. This man is a marvellous musician. Using guitar, mandolin, banjo, 12-string guitar and mandola(?), Steve rendered his tunes effortlessly.

New (seventh!) wife Allison Moorer was introduced, not only did she play the support show, she also sang a couple tunes with Steve. I was not prepared for the DJ. I associate Steve Earle with country and rock & roll, dust, facial hair and overall coarseness, I wasn't prepared for a DJ. Steve did a couple songs to the beat of a DJ, and I thought is was too damn loud; either the sound was not ok, or it was intentional. Listening to the new album today, it probably was just poor sound. Some members of the audience were even complaining about it out loud.

Altogether, it took some getting use to the new Steve. He literally sings "goodbye guitar town" in one of the new songs, so you know what time it is. Having moved to New York City with his new bride, clearly a new page is turned. The Paradiso was packed with fans, Steve Earle is more popular then ever.

Earle states in a short interview by his new record label "New West Records" that this is the first album he recorded using pro tools, enabling him to work on it by himself. Check out the video in the Electric Lady Studios:



I especially liked the older songs, and the hommage to his sons, and I'm still not quite used to the idea of the urban beats combined with the coarse Earle sound.

Latest music video "City Of Immigrants":