Over the past two decades, singer-songwriter Steve Earle has been a country-music outlaw, a junkie, a convict, an alt-country troubadour, and an activist. He’s now turning into a cranky old man who writes songs about Condoleezza Rice and the FCC. Last year’s Washington Square Serenade softened the political blows a bit, focusing instead on backwoods blues and rustic Americana — music that fueled Earle’s great ’90s albums like I Feel Alright and El Corazón. Earle’s wife, singer Allison Moorer (who’s, like, the 57th woman he’s been married to), joins him on tour and onstage for some songs.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2008.