Earle sheds most of his anger with adventuresome 'Serenade'

By Brian T. Atkinson
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Thursday, September 20, 2007

Steve Earle - 'Washington Square Serenade'

(New West)

It seems so long since Steve Earle has written with an unclenched fist. On 2004's Grammy-winning "The Revolution Starts ... Now" and 2002's "Jerusalem," faceless love songs such as "Comin' Around" and "I Remember You" only lightly honeyed politically pointed diatribes such as "Home to Houston," "Rich Man's War" and the now-infamous "John Walker's Blues."

Time to loosen up. And, finally, Earle does. After all, he has plenty to be happy about these days. Most notably, the San Antonio native is three years hitched to alt-country darling Allison Moorer, a decade sober and on the gone side of a 900-mile move from starchy Nashville to New York City's artsy Greenwich Village. "Washington Square Serenade" benefits from all the forward motion.

Earle opens his 11th proper studio album with a palpable sense of optimism, launching a thread of renewal that runs throughout. "Fare thee well, I'm bound to roam. This ain't ever been my home," he sings on "Tennessee Blues." "Blue dog on the floorboard, redhead by my side. Cross the mighty Hudson River to the New York City side."

Musically ambitious and wholly successful, "Washington Square Serenade" recalls the broad strokes of Earle's most recent masterwork, 2000's "Transcendental Blues." The gnarled folk of "Oxycontin Blues" and "Red Is The Color" blend seamlessly with static pop ("Satellite Radio"), world music ("City of Immigrants") and fearless hearts ("Come Home to Me," "Days Aren't Long Enough," a duet with Moorer).

Those looking for a nod to the protest roots of Earle's adopted neighborhood will swoon at the sing-along "Steve's Hammer (For Pete)." "One of these nights I'm gonna sing a different tune, all night long beneath the silver moon," he croons. "When the war is over and the unions strong, I won't sing no more angry songs." It's the one overt reminder that this is a Bush-era Steve Earle record.

Recommended tracks:"Tennessee Blues," "City of Immigrants"