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Steve Earle
Whew, talk about eclectic. Steve Earle sings with one the most potent southern accents known to mankind, but he puts his voice to all kinds of interesting use on Sidetracks, including reggae, grunge-punk, an Irish jig, psychedelic pop and (the least surprising, I suppose) bluegrass. All of it’s good, too. Sidetracks compiles odds and ends that were made for various, non-album projects – movie soundtracks, e.p.’s, etc. that never occupied a space in his ‘official’ catalog. Now they do, and the most amazing about this collection is the degree of continuity that is derived from such diversity.
"Some Dreams," "Open the Window" and "Me and the Eagle" open the album. All are written by Earle, and they set the tone for what might be much like any of Steve Earle’s other great records, except for the sudden shift in styles that then takes place. From the ‘toasting’ version of "Johnny Too Bad"(an outlaw song that fits Earle’s persona like a glove) through a surprisingly vital version of Kurt Cobain’s "Breed", the extent of Earle’s talent and interests transcend any attempt at pigeonholing him as a country artist, alternative or otherwise.
His choice of covers spells out his abilities in ways that his songwriting does not. He duets with Sheryl Crow on "Time Has Come Today", the 60’s soul-rocker made famous by the Chambers Brothers, and reinvests it with a rocking energy that updates, then eclipses, the original. Once Steve Earle takes hold of a song, it becomes his. Little Feat’s "Willin’" has been covered so often that I could easily live without it these days, but Earle’s version is the first that brings something new (and believable) to the song since Lowell George first recorded it in the early ‘70s. All in all, Sidetracks pulls itself together much better than otherwise might have been expected from such eclecticism. This’d make a cool choice for the CD scrambler.
Grade: 
 
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