Anyone who figured that
Steve Earle's triumphant return to form on
I Feel Alight was either a fluke or a burst of second wind attributable to his return to health got the message that
Earle was back to stay with 1997's
El Corazón.
El Corazón isn't as consistently strong as
I Feel Alright and lacks a bit of that album's thematic unity, but the high points connect just as powerfully, and the album kicks off with a tremendous one-two punch, the rousing acoustic ballad "Christmas in Washington" and "Taneytown," a harrowing story of race and violence backed with gale-force electric guitars.
El Corazón is also a good bit more eclectic than much of
Earle's previous work, dipping into bluegrass ("You Know the Rest," featuring backing from
the Del McCoury Band), old-school country ("The Other Side of Town"), hard rock ("N.Y.C.," co-starring
the Supersuckers, and "Here I Am"), and vintage R&B ("Telephone Road"). As its title suggests,
El Corazón often deals with matters of the heart, expressed with particular eloquence on "Poison Lovers" and "If You Fall," though the song's most emotionally resonant moment comes with its closing song, "Ft. Worth Blues," a moving farewell to
Earle's longtime friend and mentor
Townes Van Zandt.
Earle co-produced
El Corazón with frequent studio partner
Ray Kennedy, and the record sounds superb, with the vocals rich and the guitars potent, confirming that
Earle is the best judge of his own recorded work.
El Corazón isn't the instant classic that
I Feel Alright was, but it's more than good enough to show that
Earle was a major talent not about to go away, and it ranks with his most vital work. ~ Mark Deming