Colvin & Earle [LP]

by Shawn Colvin, Steve Earle, Colvin & Earle

Overview

Shawn Colvin has landed a few tunes on the pop charts over the course of her career, and Steve Earle was briefly a legitimate country star. But in 2016, as the two team up for their first album as a duo, Colvin & Earle are folkies -- hip folkies, to be sure, but at heart two singer/songwriters on the far side of 50 who like swapping harmonies and strumming their acoustic guitars. Colvin & Earle sound like good friends who enjoy singing together, and this album has a lively and spontaneous atmosphere, especially when the two are singing old covers. For Shawn and Steve's generation, if "Tobacco Road," "Ruby Tuesday," and "You Were on My Mind" don't qualify as folk songs, it's hard to imagine what would, and "Tell Moses" borrows enough from a fistful of old traditional numbers that it feels more like a cover than a Colvin/Earle original, despite the songwriting credits. Colvin's voice, still sweet if seasoned by time, proves to be a fine match for Earle's more rugged instrument, and he shows good instincts as he dodges in and around her lead lines. Buddy Miller produced the Colvin & Earle sessions, and he gives these recordings a sound that's rich but doesn't sound fussed over, especially the deep bass and drums (from Chris Wood and Fred Eltringham) and the layers of guitar provided by Earle, Miller, and Richard Bennett. Colvin & Earle sound great on the covers on this album, and quite good on the originals. This effort seems to be another example of a project where the songwriters were saving their A-list material for their own set, but if "You're Right (I'm Wrong") and "Happy and Free" don't rank with the best songs either Colvin or Earle have written, they're a long, long way from bad. They reflect facets of each tunesmith, and they're not likely to let down fans of either artist. Colvin & Earle plays more like a detour for these two artists rather than the beginning of a long-standing collaboration, but the enthusiasm here is honest and the result is a good week's work that leaves room for a sequel. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/10/2016
Label:	Fantasy
UPC:	0888072391505
Rank:	117087

Tracks

1. Come What May
2. Tell Moses
3. Tobacco Road
4. Ruby Tuesday
5. The Way That We Do
6. Happy & Free
7. You Were on My Mind
8. You¿¿¿re Right (I¿¿¿m Wrong)
9. Raise the Dead
10. You¿¿¿re Still Gone

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Colvin & Earle   Primary Artist
Shawn Colvin   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Strings
Steve Earle   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Strings,Bouzouki,Mandolin,Harmonica,Mandocello
Kelly Looney   Bass
Richard Bennett   Guitar
Buddy Miller   Guitar,Harmonium
Fred Eltringham   Drums,Percussion
Chris Wood   Bass

Technical Credits

John D. Loudermilk   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Julie Miller   Composer
Buddy Miller   Producer
Andrew Mendelson   Mastering
Keith Richards   Composer
Mick Jagger   Composer
Shawn Colvin   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Steve Earle   Composer
Sylvia Fricker   Composer
Emmylou Harris   Composer
John Leventhal   Composer
Collin Dupuis   Mixing,Engineer
Kathi Whitley   Production Coordination
Andrew Darby   Assistant
Carrie Smith   Package Design
Alexandra Valenti   Photography
Adam Grover   Assistant
Stephanie Hamood   Assistant Engineer
Gabe Millman   Assistant
Timothy Hogan   Logo Design