Steve Earle to Re-Release "The Mountain"

Roots Rocker Reissues Bluegrass CD, Plans Townes Tribute Album

Jan 22, 2009

Steve Earle, Alt Country savant, is rereleasing his album, "The Mountain," recorded with the Del McCoury Band in 1999.

On January 20th 2009, Steve Earle, now with New West Records, re-released Earle’s 1999 album, The Mountain. This album was a collaboration with bluegrass legends The Del McCoury Band, who backed Earle on his first foray into bluegrass.

The Mountain, With Del McCoury, Earned Steve Earle His 7th Grammy Nomination

After releasing his 1997 album El Corazon, Steve Earle planned a bluegrass album to honor Bill Monroe, the “Father of Bluegrass,” who died in 1996. Earle had worked with the Del McCoury band on “I Still Carry You Around,” off of El Corazon. He enlisted the bluegrass band for his new project.

The Mountain was a tremendous critical success, earning Steve Earle a Grammy nomination in 2000 in the “Best Bluegrass Album” category. Altogether Earle has received 13 Grammy nominations and 2 Grammy awards.

According to music lore, Del McCoury was very offended by Steve Earle’s constant use of foul language. This ended with McCoury swearing not to work with Earle again. However, Earle got the last word on his album Transcendental Blues. At the end of his song “Until the Day I Die,” Earle wryly tacks on a Bill Monroe quote, “Remember folks, there’s no room for vulgarity in bluegrass.”

Song Listings For Steve Earle’s The Mountain

Other Steve Earle News: Tribute Album for Townes Van Zandt Forthcoming.

In recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Steve Earle discusses his soon to be released tribute album for his mentor and friend Townes Van Zandt. Earle is currently in Nashville finishing up the album, although most of it was recorded in New York City, where he and his wife, musician Allison Moorer currently reside.

Earle’s relationship with Townes Van Zandt is well documented. Earle met Townes as a teen, and Van Zandt took him under his wing. The two developed a strong friendship, bound by a love of music, and perhaps an understanding of the demons that possessed them.

Both Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle have struggled with addiction. Earle was addicted to heroin for many years, to the point where it almost ended his career and his life before landing in jail for two years in the mid-1990s. Townes Van Zandt battled drug and alcohol abuse for his adult life, landing in rehab several times. Eventually he died from the damage his vices did to his body.

Earle states in his Rolling Stone interview that he plans his tribute album to be as close as the way Townes sang the songs as possible. To do so, Earle will have to rein in his tendency towards musical exploration, exploration like his newly re-released album, The Mountain.

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