Sure are a lot of Steve Earle compilations on the market, especially what with them saying up on Music Row he’s a commercial failure and all, just another songwriter better out of sight and being covered by more polite folks wearing new hats. Yeah, well, he’ll outlast them yet.
Part of that outlasting, though, means digging through the refuse of the past. Early Tracks is as advertised, beginning with the first rockabilly tracks Earle cut that ultimately became his Epic debut (two 45s are reprised here as well), working through to an early version of “Devil’s Right Hand” and ending with John Hiatt’s “The Crush”.
Needless to say, this is hardly a masterpiece. Rather, these fourteen tracks are full of early reference points (Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, etc.) and are principally of interest for what they reveal about the work that followed. Early Tracks is the sound of a young, hungry, undeniably talented songwriter seeking to find his voice.