steve earle ghosts of west virginia

​Steve Earle and The Dukes (from the albums Ghosts of West Virginia available on New West Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Steve Earle keeps America’s best interest at heart, whether the country likes it or not. Championing topics such as strip mining, greed and capitalism, the death penalty, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, Steve Earle the singer/songwriter, the activist and occasional actor, will spin a yarn, calling it like he sees it and feels it. His songs are a vehicle to illuminate and educate, the latest lesson from Steve Earle and the Dukes, Ghosts of West Virginia finds the aged, gruffer voiced Earle singing mining songs, in particular focusing on the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Coal Mine in West Virginia that killed 29 men. Acapella gospel opens the record with “Heaven Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” followed by fringe Bluegrass that hears Steve Earle singing on red-state staples of “Union, God and Country”.
Steve Earle and the Dukes throw out reminders that mining is a dangerous and unfair profession with “The Devil Put the Coal in the Ground” and “Black Lung”, while The Dukes’ Eleanor Whitmore lends tender vocals to the song, detailing the loved ones waiting for their miner-men to come back home with “If I Could See Your Face Again” showing sometimes does not happen. “It’s About Blood” is a tough cut where Earle spits ‘Goddamned right I’m emotional’ as he speaks for the miners, ultimately name dropping all 29 men that lost their lives in the aforementioned explosion. Steve Earle is an important voice for the voiceless, his rough-around the edges ballads and gritty, click-clack rhythmed Roots Rock exposing some worthy questions addressed tp dangerous industry and an tragic accident that Americans should acknowledge and remember. (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Listen and buy the music of Steve Earle and the Dukes from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit the Steve Earle and the Dukes website
 
 
 

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