Alt-country icon Steve Earle is gearing up to release his first album of original material in four years. While Earle's last disc was 2009's Grammy-winning Townes, a tribute to Townes Van Zandt, his last full-length of originals was 2007's Washington Square Serenade, which also won a Grammy.
Ready to get back to his songs, Earle's newly announced long-player, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, is an 11-song set that teams the artist with producer T Bone Burnett and a number of guest musicians.
On the album, Earle will be accompanied by Burnett protégé Greg Leisz on pedal steel and Nickel Creek fiddler Sara Watkins, as well as Earle's wife, Allison Moorer, who duets with the singer on "Heaven or Hell." The collection will also feature "This City," a song featured on HBO series Treme, in which Earle has appeared as an actor.
An interview with Billboard finds the musician explaining why he handed the production reins over to the much-respected Burnett.
"I didn't want to be a producer this time; I didn't want to expend any energy doing that," Earle said. "I wanted to be a singer and a songwriter and concentrate on that. I wrote 'til the last minute and tweaked the lyrics right up until I sang them. I think that calculation worked. I'm pretty proud of this record."
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive is set to be released by New West on CD, as a deluxe CD/DVD set and on 180-gram vinyl on April 26. Check out the tracklisting below.
I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive:
1. "Waitin' On The Sky"
2. "Little Emperor"
3. "The Gulf of Mexico"
4. "Molly — O"
5. "God is God"
6. "Meet Me In The Alleyway"
7. "Every Part of Me"
8. "Lonely Are The Free"
9. "Heaven or Hell" (with Allison Moorer)
10. "I Am A Wanderer"
11. "This City"
Ready to get back to his songs, Earle's newly announced long-player, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, is an 11-song set that teams the artist with producer T Bone Burnett and a number of guest musicians.
On the album, Earle will be accompanied by Burnett protégé Greg Leisz on pedal steel and Nickel Creek fiddler Sara Watkins, as well as Earle's wife, Allison Moorer, who duets with the singer on "Heaven or Hell." The collection will also feature "This City," a song featured on HBO series Treme, in which Earle has appeared as an actor.
An interview with Billboard finds the musician explaining why he handed the production reins over to the much-respected Burnett.
"I didn't want to be a producer this time; I didn't want to expend any energy doing that," Earle said. "I wanted to be a singer and a songwriter and concentrate on that. I wrote 'til the last minute and tweaked the lyrics right up until I sang them. I think that calculation worked. I'm pretty proud of this record."
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive is set to be released by New West on CD, as a deluxe CD/DVD set and on 180-gram vinyl on April 26. Check out the tracklisting below.
I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive:
1. "Waitin' On The Sky"
2. "Little Emperor"
3. "The Gulf of Mexico"
4. "Molly — O"
5. "God is God"
6. "Meet Me In The Alleyway"
7. "Every Part of Me"
8. "Lonely Are The Free"
9. "Heaven or Hell" (with Allison Moorer)
10. "I Am A Wanderer"
11. "This City"
