Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues (Bloodshot Records, 2010)
I’m a big fan of Justin Townes Earle, but I’m not as excited about Harlem River Blues as I would like to be. Not that there’s anything really wrong with Harlem River Blues. This is a really good country album, but I know this guy is capable of so much more. Justin is one of those guys who can probably write three good country albums in a year, but let’s not fall into that Ryan Adams syndrome. Even though the basic level of songwriting is damn high, it’s ok to wait until you have written enough of that really fantastic stuff for a full album. Midnight At The Movies was already pretty close to be that perfect album, but now it feels like he is playing it a bit safe. Maybe it’s a bit unfair criticism, because if some unknown singer-songwriter released this album, I might be over the moon. And despite everything I said, it’s still worth..
