In June 2000, Steve Earle released the album Transcendental Blues. It didn’t really have a hook behind it like some of Earle’s previous few albums had possessed. For instance, it wasn’t the comeback album, I Feel Alright. Nor was it the bluegrass album, The Mountain.
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What set Transcendental Blues apart was the depth of its songwriting and the variety of genres that the music referenced. Lacking a marketing angle didn’t affect its quality. It’s clear now, 25 years after its release, that it’s one of the best in a fantastic catalog.
Transcending the Past
Steve Earle is extremely fortunate that he was able to rise again after his rise and fall. After a long time spent looking for a big break while learning at the feet of the finest outlaw country artists, his career blazed forth with a series of brilliant albums in the late 80s.
Earle straddled the line between alt-country and heartland rock with a deftness that few of his peers could match. Unfortunately, a drug habit started to derail both the quality and quantity of his output. His descent into addiction finally ended with him serving a stint in jail, which threatened to squelch the momentum of his promising career forever.
But Earle’s reputation as a songwriter of rare ability earned him a loyal following, one that was ready to prop him up upon his return. After tentatively stepping back into the spotlight with an album of older, unreleased songs, he hit his creative stride again with I Feel Alright in 1996.
Transcendental Blues took the comeback to another level. Ever the musical polymath, Earle devoted the record to showing off his facility with a number of genres. Perhaps most striking of all these forays was the psychedelic, Beatlesque harmonium drone found on songs like the title track and “The Boy Who Never Cried.” Earle explained this swerve in an interview with Exclaim!:
“The Beatles’ influence has always been around in everything we’ve done here, but it’s a little more blatant on this one. I don’t think anybody’s made any records that sound better than those. I got out a copy of Revolver and it sat on the console for the whole record.”
Revisiting the Music of ‘Transcendental Blues’
The pulsating title track starts Transcendental Blues off on a powerful note. It’s the song on the record where Earle most clearly references his past life and his struggles to get right. “Back roads never carry you where you want ‘em to,” he moans. “They leave you standin’ there with them ol’ “Transcendental Blues.”
From there, Earle takes off in all manner of directions. “Steve’s Last Ramble” and “Galway Girl” provide a burst of ramshackle energy, the latter with an Irish lilt added to it. “Until The Day I Die” recaptures some of the bluegrass of The Mountain. “Everyone’s In Love With You” and “All My Life” rock with abandon and authority.
Earle is at his finest on the softest numbers. He delivers a standout crier in “Lonelier Than This”. And “Over Yonder (Jonathan’s Song)” eloquently protests the death penalty by simply recounting the final thoughts and wishes of a doomed inmate.
As we mentioned above, Transcendental Blues doesn’t have any killer story attached to it. It’s just Steve Earle doing what he does best. Considering he almost lost out on the opportunity to offer that to us, the greatness contained within the record is nothing we should take for granted.
Photo by John D Shearer/Shutterstock
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