Americana icon Steve Earle and his country rock band The Dukes will release a new album “So You Wannabe an Outlaw” on June 16 on Warner Bros. Records, which is available now for pre-order where you’ll receive an instant download of the album track “Lookin’ For A Woman.” It’s Steve’s first album for Warner Bros. Records since 1997’s El Corazón, and explores his country songwriting roots, featuring collaborations with Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush, and Miranda Lambert.
“There’s nothing ‘retro’ about this record,” Earle says. “I’m just acknowledging where I’m coming from.” So You Wannabe an Outlaw is the first recording he has made in Austin, TX. Earle has lived in New York City for the past decade. “Look, I’m always gonna be a Texan, no matter what I do,” he says. “And I’m always going to be somebody who learned their craft in Nashville. It’s who I am.”
So You Wannabe an Outlaw is an homage to outlaw music and is dedicated to the late Waylon Jennings. “I was out to unapologetically ‘channel’ Waylon as best as I could.” Earle says. “This record was all about me playing on the back pick-up of a ’66 Fender Telecaster on an entire record for the first time in my life. The vocal part of it is a little different. I certainly don’t sound like Waylon Jennings. I moved to Nashville in November of 1974, and right after that Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger came out. I was around when Waylon was recording Dreaming My Dreams. Guitar Town wound up being kind of my version of those types of songs,” Earle recalls.
Earle is backed on So You Wannabe an Outlaw by his long-time band The Dukes — guitarist Chris Masterson, fiddle player Eleanor Whitmore, bassist Kelly Looney, and new members: drummer Brad Pemberton and pedal steel player Ricky Ray Jackson. The album was produced by Richard Bennett and recorded at Arlyn Studios in Austin.
This summer, Earle will lead his fourth annual songwriting intensive, Camp Copperhead, in upstate New York from June 26-30, 2017, followed by extensive US tour dates with The Dukes.
“So You Wannabe An Outlaw” tracklist:
So You Wanna Be An Outlaw (feat. Willie Nelson)
Lookin’ For A Woman
The Firebreak Line
News From Colorado
If Mama Coulda Seen Me
Fixin’ To Die
This Is How It Ends (feat. Miranda Lambert)
The Girl On The Mountain
You Broke My Heart
Walkin’ In LA (feat. Johnny Bush)
Sunset Highway
Goodbye Michelangelo
Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks (covers):
Ain’t No God In Mexico (Billie Joe Shaver)
Sister’s Coming Home/Down At The Corner Beer Joint (Willie Nelson)
The Local Memory (Willie Nelson)
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way (Waylon Jennings)
