Steve Earle’s 16th solo album,Terraplane, is an affair a tad over half an hour long, firmly rooted in Americana. There’s talk of Tennessee, a vagrant love life and a good dose of harmonicas all over this largely bluesy/hillbilly record. At other times, there are hints of saloon piano, a mandolin and a fiddle.
Indeed, the album criss-crosses all over the vagaries of American music – blues, country, Western, bluegrass, folk – and back again.
Terraplane comes across as a rather serious affair, and indeed Earle recorded this album shortly after breaking up with wife Allison Moorer, his sixth (!). Unlike Earle’s heart, this album doesn’t do much wandering, rarely ever getting close to upbeat or exciting – the opener, ‘Baby Baby Baby (Baby)’ is the only exception.
If you like sad, traditional American music and/or nostalgia, I’d recommend Terraplane. ‘Better Off Alone’ deals heavily in misery while ‘Acquainted With The Wind’ and ‘Baby’s Just As Mean As Me’ are lathered in olden-day Americana.
But if you’re in need of cheering up, try watching the cricket instead.
3/5.
