Justin Townes Earle (from the album All In: Unreleased & Rarities - The New West Years

Justin Townes Earle (from the album All In: Unreleased & Rarities - The New West Years

Justin Townes Earle (from the album All In: Unreleased & Rarities - The New West Years is available on New West Records) (By Lee Zimmerman)
 
It’s always tragic when a young artist who has yet to reach his or her prime succumbs to death at an early age. In the case of Justin Townes Earle, it was especially sad considering his conflicted youth, his struggles with addiction, and the difficult relationship he had with his father, Steve Earle.
 
Nevertheless, the younger Earle left behind an impressive legacy consisting of an initial EP and eight albums, the latter of which bore especially telling titles pertaining to his own circumstance — Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, Single Mothers, Absent Fathers, Kids in the Street, and The Saint of Lost Causes in particular. The fact that Justin Townes Earle used music as a salve to soothe his innermost emotions makes the outtakes, demos, live recordings, and rarities that occupy this particular posthumous offering, All In, somewhat serendipitous. Despite the bare-boned incarnations and a decidedly subdued sound, the tone is surprisingly upbeat and even optimistic at times. Certain songs — “Cold Comfort”, “Far from Me”, and “Already Gone” in particular — are accompanied by a simple strum, offering a light-hearted feel that the titles might not otherwise indicate. His unadorned covers of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, Paul Simon’s “Graceland”, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” in particular, indicate that JTE had been influenced, at least in part, by certain iconic individuals, and he found occasional enjoyment in singing their songs. They could be considered off-handed in a certain sense, but given the context of these orphans and outcasts, it’s clear they were simply an exercise of indulgence. A rollicking cover of the Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats Rock’n’Roll standard, “Rocket 88”, suggests the same.

That’s not to say Justin was unafraid to offer his own insights as well. “So Different Blues”, “Champagne Corolla”,  “Over Alameda”,  and “Appalachian Nightmare” convey a more tempestuous tone, suggesting that he needed to expel his demons and confront a certain pathos that simply couldn’t be ignored. The demo versions of “Over Alameda” and “Appalachian Nightmare” differ dramatically from the finished versions, which are also included here.

Ultimately, All In comes across as a bit of a hodgepodge, and certainly not the place to start for those that new to Earle’s work. Rather, All In is best described as a musical obituary of sorts, a random requiem to an artist who, when forced to contend with unsettled circumstance, clearly found his own way forward. (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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