Although he's widely regarded as the 'Godfather' of the all-encompassing Alt.Country scene these days, STEVE EARLE'S passage to hip status has been anything but that of an overnight sensation.
His story since his landmark country rock-straddling debut album "Guitar Town" smashed into Nashville in 1986 is well-documented, with the tales of hard living, fabulous albums, crippling addiction and excess, prison time and a subsequent phoenix-style rise from the ashes of a fallen career all present and romantically correct, but it's often forgotten that Earle spent many years slogging and fighting for a fair hearing from the mid-'70s when he first arrived in Nashville from his native Texas full of piss, vinegar and fiery idealism.
Indeed, it's hard to reconcile the grizzled, bearded and experienced Earle of 2003 with the fresh-faced, airbrushed youngster staring out from the sleeve of "Early Tracks", but one thing's for sure: even when he laid down these songs with an early version of The Dukes circa 1982 -1984, he already had presence and prodigious talent in spades and these fourteen tracks have aged remarkable well.
Cut during EP/ singles sessions during Earle's tenure with his pre-MCA label Epic, most of these songs were recorded in Nashville with Pat Carter and Roy Dea (who were in effect Earle's publishing company High Chapparal Music) at the helm, and they will be something of a surprise to those of us familiar with Earle's rootsy, deeply Country-influenced work as they instead showcase a tight, lean and wiry little rockabilly/ rock'n'roll combo, with more than a hint of the early Sun studios sound.
Once you've got over the shock, however, this is definitely a good thing, as this early incarnation of Earle's band The Dukes (with Earle accompanied by just drummer Martin Parker and bassist Ron King) was sympathetic and effective. Indeed, tracks like "Nothin' But You" and the jokey "Open Up Your Door" are lean and echo-ey and reminiscent of Chuck Berry, while with "Continental Trailways Blues" the fact that Earle was still heading off to Mexico to play Creedence covers in small clubs is apparent stylistically.
One of the other major attractions of these early tunes is the fluidity of Earle's Stratocaster. He often plays with the economy of Steve Cropper, while his picking and solos on "Breakdown Lane" are good enough to rival James Burton and the crystalline intro to the cautionary (and probably autobiographical even at this early stage) "Devil's Right Hand" would have Roger McGuinn nodding vigourous assent. By comparison, the strutting "My Baby She Worships Me" recalls prime Eddie Cochran and "Annie, Is Tonight The Night?" is a further duckwalking treat.
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Epic's original version of "Early Tracks" (circa 1987 in the wake of "Guitar Town"s success) omitted the four tracks Earle recorded for two consecutive singles with producer Emery Gordy Jnr in June 1984 when Epic were pushing Earle for a last ditch attempt to crack the charts. This re-issue sensibly reinstates these tracks, and while The Dukes were replaced here with a fuller sound and quality session musicians, these four songs are still notable, including "What'll You Do About Me" - which benefits from Hank DeVito's wafts of steel and an impassioned Earle vocal - and an intriguing version of John Hiatt's "The Crush", which - as the sleevenotes cogently point out - really DOES recall Sam The Sham's "Woolly Bully." Bizarre, but cool nonetheless.
Bearing in mind the personal traumas Steve Earle has been forced to contend with and overcome, the fact he's making such vital music to this day is little short of miraculous, but while on "Early Tracks" he's still a little in thrall to some of his earlier influences (though not Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark so much here, strangely enough), his drive, determination, single-mindedness and raw talent are all too apparent. Indeed, as archival collections go, it's something for him to be proud of and for us to relish.
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