Justin Townes Earle stands tall in the pantheon of singer-songwriters in the americana theatre. The son of one of the most universally acclaimed exponents of the genre (Steve Earle) and named after another (Townes van Zandt), his influence on young and up and coming americana artists was profound, largely because he straddled the era of old-style country, roots and gospel music and melded them with the narrative skill that pervaded the burgeoning americana music.
I don’t suppose I am the only listener whose introduction to Earle’s music was via the Letterman Show performance of Harlem River Blues, although by the time of this performance, he had released the album of the same name, his third full-length album (plus a well-received EP Yuma). The effect was immediate, from the tune’s driving rhythm and its gloriously gospel melody allied to a dark theme about suicide: “Lord, I’m goin’ uptown to the Harlem River to drown / Dirty water gonna cover me over / And I’m not gonna make a sound”. This ability to compose serious and often dark narratives and wrap them in catchy tunes and choruses became something of a feature of his writing (and something I subsequently discovered with his earlier album Midnight at the Movies, and then the subsequent ones).
The brilliance of the song is in its atmospheric mood aligned with a rockabilly sound, wonderfully enhanced in the Letterman performance by Brynn Davies’ bass playing, Skylar Wilson’s scintillating organ intro and short solo and the guitar playing of Jason Isbell, recently departed from The Drive-By Truckers and fighting similar demons to Earle himself (and also new to this writer courtesy of the Letterman show). Earle was influenced to write the song by a scene from the movie “The Basketball Diaries”, and there are some brilliant lines where, for example, the narrator is totally comfortable with his decision and the timing of it: “So I’m taking no chances / Carrying over while I’m still good in His grace / Sayin’ I’m no fool, mama / I know the difference between tempting and choosing my fate”.
Earle never enjoyed serious commercial success and the album Harlem River Blues was the one that not only climbed highest up the charts but also generally had the best reviews – critics noted that there is not a weak song on the album and it hangs together as a unified whole, but it is the single, that won Americana Music Honors and Awards Song of the Year in 2011, that continues to resonate as possibly his greatest achievement, though I guess fans will debate that from time to time.
Earle died at the age of 38 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl-laced cocaine, during one of his recurring falls off the wagon, a curse that eventually cost him his life. The eulogies and tributes came thick and fast after Earle died, a recognition that a longer life may well have led to even greater recognition as one of the very best songwriters in this field. As it is, his star still shines bright and Harlem River Blues remains the nearest thing to a masterpiece that he produced. His father released his own version on a tribute album J.T. that he released a few months after his son’s death, and played the song regularly at live concerts (there are a couple of extremely moving live performances, one by him and one by JT- see here and here)
