It’s remarkable to consider that three decades have passed since Steve Earle unleashed Guitar Town upon the world in March 1986. For those of us who weren’t around to grab it fresh off the shelves, discovering this album later in life is like unearthing a musical goldmine. While youthful infatuations with artists like Kurt Cobain or Dave Pirner are understandable, there’s a grounded authenticity in Steve Earle that resonates deeply, particularly when exploring the roots of Americana music. Reflecting on the 10th anniversary celebration of Guitar Town at the Ryman Auditorium in 1996, one can only imagine the electric atmosphere and the significance of that venue to Earle’s music. Lauren St John’s biography, Hardcore Troubadour, paints a vivid picture, even down to the Earle family’s post-show Waffle House plans, adding to the album’s down-to-earth charm.
A Blast from the Past: Guitar Town in the 80s
The Ryman Auditorium, a venue brought back to prominence in part by Emmylou Harris’s championing, holds a special place in the story of Guitar Town. Harris’s influence on Nashville and the broader country music scene is undeniable, and her early performance of ‘Guitar Town’ with the Nash Ramblers at the Ryman is legendary. This connection underscores the album’s deep roots in country tradition while simultaneously pushing boundaries into rock territories. Emmylou Harris’s generosity and keen ear for talent are well-documented. Years after Guitar Town‘s release and amidst Steve Earle’s personal struggles, Harris played a pivotal role in his resurgence. As Earle recorded Train a Comin’ shortly after a period of hardship, Harris was working on her seminal Wrecking Ball album. Earle shared early tracks with her, and Harris, recognizing his raw talent, included his song ‘Goodbye’ on Wrecking Ball, featuring Earle himself on guitar. This act of artistic solidarity highlights the respect and influence Guitar Town had garnered within the Nashville community.
Storytelling at its Finest: Themes and Characters
Guitar Town is undeniably a product of the 1980s, yet its themes and musicality transcend the era. The album bursts with a raw, rollicking energy, blending country twang with rock and roll swagger. Earle’s lyrics are bitingly American, painting vivid pictures of working-class struggles and disillusionment. While his later work would delve into the complexities of the Vietnam War’s legacy, Guitar Town focuses on the more immediate battles of everyday Americans in the mid-80s. Released the same year as Platoon, the album subtly echoes the era’s anxieties, but its core themes are economic hardship, dead-end jobs, loneliness, and the ever-present specter of unemployment. It’s a portrait of “good clean depression,” as the original article aptly puts it, capturing a mood of pervasive economic unease.
Image of Steve Earle’s Guitar Town album cover. Alt text: Steve Earle Guitar Town album cover featuring Steve Earle with a guitar in a black and white photo.
Steve Earle excels at crafting story songs, giving voice to the marginalized and overlooked. The title track, ‘Guitar Town’, embodies this perfectly. Sung with Earle’s signature weary yet relentless energy, it’s an anthem of the touring musician’s life, filled with audacious lines like, “Everybody told me that you can’t get far on thirty-seven dollars and a Jap guitar.” This line, both provocative and poignant, encapsulates the album’s blend of grit and brilliance. The characters in Guitar Town are deeply relatable. Consider the young man in ‘Someday’, stuck in a gas station, watching the world pass him by. His yearning for escape, dreaming of the open road, resonates with anyone who has felt trapped by circumstance. “Someday I’ll put her on the interstate and never look back,” he dreams, capturing the restless spirit of many Earle’s protagonists. Even the ‘Good Ol’ Boy’ in the track of the same name, despite his colorful vernacular, is stuck in place, weighed down by debt and responsibility. His truck, shared with “the bank, and some funny talking man from Iran,” symbolizes his economic entrapment. He is a victim of a broken promise: “born in a land of plenty, now there ain’t enough.” This raw portrayal of working-class struggles elevates Guitar Town beyond simple country rock, tapping into a deeper vein of American experience.
Key Tracks that Define an Era
Beyond the social commentary, Guitar Town also offers moments of surprising tenderness. Earle isn’t afraid of sentimentality, even daring to sing, “I wonder what’s over that rainbow” in ‘Little Rock n’ Roller’. This track, a heartfelt ode to his son Justin Townes Earle, is a testament to the album’s emotional range. It’s a love song to a child, a theme rarely explored outside of country and hip-hop, adding another layer of depth to the album. Despite Justin Townes Earle’s own complex life journey, within the context of Guitar Town, he remains the innocent “four year old child, missing his daddy,” a poignant image that resonates deeply. Tracks like ‘Fearless Heart’ further reveal Earle’s personal reflections. Lines like, “I admit I fall in love a lot, but I nearly always give it my best shot,” offer a glimpse into Earle’s own life and experiences at the time, adding a layer of autobiographical intimacy to the album.
Emmylou Harris and the Ryman Connection
The album also showcases Earle’s range beyond personal narratives. ‘Hillbilly Highway’ delves into historical-country storytelling, evoking the spirit of The Grapes of Wrath, while ‘Down The Road’, the album’s closer, is a masterclass in evocative brevity. Its haunting melody and lyrical imagery are so potent it’s surprising it hasn’t been used in a perfume advertisement, as the original article humorously suggests. These tracks demonstrate the breadth of Earle’s songwriting capabilities and solidify Guitar Town‘s place as a multifaceted and enduring work.
The Enduring Legacy of Guitar Town
In conclusion, Guitar Town is more than just a debut album; it’s a landmark release that encapsulates the spirit of Americana music. It’s a rollicking, poetic, and deeply American record that continues to resonate three decades later. It stands as a testament to Steve Earle’s storytelling prowess, his ability to give voice to the voiceless, and his enduring contribution to the landscape of country and rock music. Guitar Town is not just an album; it’s a lustrous gem unearthed from the rich soil of American music, a glorious and unabashed piece of Americana that deserves to be revisited and celebrated.
