Diandra Reviews It All

Steve Earle is a legend. When you think of classic country, you think of this Nashville singer-songwriter, who capture country music’s inner rebel. In perspective, every music genre plays with the idea that in each person there is a “revolutionary” or, for Steve Earle And The Dukes, an “outlaw’ ready to stand up and stand for their ground, and, if not, at least burn it. So You Wannabe An Outlaw (SYWAO) is his love letter to country rock’s beating, rebel heart.
Steve Earle & The Dukes – So You Wannabe An Outlaw [Official Music Video]

From “So You Wannabe An Outlaw” to “Sunset Highway”, Earle delves his album with a country roar. He booms drums and rears his guitar like he is hunting for the “magic game” that will finally fill him. Emotionally, SYWAO presents Earle like a Shakespearean character; the subversive lecher who aims to show the fractures of politics and people. Society, in every tier, has its holes that “The Firebreaker LIne”, “News From Colorado”, and “Walkin LA’” reveal. It does not matter what degree , from personal to political, relationships have their hiccups, of which Earle writes them as casually and tremendously as he write in joy. For Earle, an life, you cannot have one without the other, which is why I cannot say there are truly “happy” songs. If anything, Earle sees happiness like a rabbit of luck you occasionally catch, but would be a fool to believe you can keep, especially as an outlaw. Part of living on the “edge” of yourself and society is seeing that loneliness will be a common factor in your life. Hence, Earle’s lyrics never distinguish outlaw from outcast, especially in the painfully but beautifully morose “Fixin To Die”. This song truly embodies Earle’s writing capacity to sum up how, at times, being counter-culture stems from and furthers being counter yourself. For however much we say we hate the world and how it works, part of our decisions to destroy ourselves comes from an unrequited desire to feel/be apart of it. That hurts show in Earle’s ability to make a guitar rock like it is inciting a raucous or riot, but bring it down to its chorded knees and make it sonically cry.
Steve Earle & The Dukes – Lookin’ For A Woman [Official Music Video]

So You Wannabe An Outlaw is an album for pure country fans. It makes you want grab a beer, your partner, and your inner “mischief” to wonder and accept how you can feel sorry and splendid, all at once. If there is one thing Earle captures is that humanity is a paradox, and he has writhing vocals to show the weight and whims of our soulful dichotomies. From “Lookin For A Woman” to his Guy Clarke homage “Goodbye Michelangelo” or “This IS How It Ends”, for being a seasoned musician/ human being, Earle displays that life never gets easier; you just have to get better at it. For all the dissolutions and torrid farewells, you have keep open to new hello’s and dreams. For More Information On Steve Earle And The Dukes And To Buy So You Wannabe An Outlaw Click Here.
Steve Earle & The Dukes – Fixin’ To Die [Official Audio]