TRANSCENDENTAL BLUES

Personnel: Steve Earle (vocals, guitar, harmonium, Mini-Moog synthesizer); Darrell Scott (vocals, banjo); Tim O'Brien (vocals, mandolin); Tom Littlefield, Stacey Earle (vocals); Doug Lancio (guitar); David Steele (mandola); Casey Driessen (fiddle); Benmont Tench (piano, organ); Dan Metz, Ray Kennedy, Kelley Looney (bass); Dennis Crouch (upright bass); Will Rigby, Patrick Earle (drums, percussion); Ron Vance (drums). Includes liner notes by Steve Earle. TRANSCENDENTAL BLUES was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Personnel: Steve Earle (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica); Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (guitar, background vocals); Kelley Looney (bass, background vocals); Will Rigby (drums, background vocals). On his fifth album since sobering up in the mid-'90s, Steve Earle avoids striking any sour notes as he mixes disparate musical ingredients including Bill Monroe, RUBBER SOUL, Irish reels and sturdy folk-rock into an eclectic and innovative stew of stellar songwriting. This country rebel's thirst for musical challenge allows him to include the high lonesome sound of heavenly harmonies and whining fiddle, such as on the thoroughly bluegrass "Until The Day I Die," on the same album as the Indian-like mysticism of the title track (featuring members of Philly rock band Marah). Earle's collaborative instincts find him joined by Irish musician Sharon Shannon and her band. "Steve's Last Ramble" and "The Galway Girl" both overflow with bouzouki, fiddle, accordion and harp to form TRANSCENDENTAL BLUES' breezy core. Elsewhere, Earle and sister Stacey make like a modern day Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris on "When I Fall," while the Beatles-esque melancholy of "The Boy Who Never Cried" and the grinding garage rock of "All My Life," make for an interesting juxtaposition. Earle's most personal note this time around is "Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)," an anti-capital punishment narrative based on an execution the singer witnessed first hand.