I Feel Alright
STEVE EARLE
(Warner Bros.)

Earle's second album after a prison stint for drug and firearms charges is a triumph — to these ears, his best ever. Gone is the Nashville sheen of Guitar Town and Copperhead Road, and in its place is a mostly threadbare, visceral mixture of country, folk, rock, rockabilly, teary ballads, acoustic blues and bluegrass. Each song bears Earle's distinct imprint, filled with attitude, insight and lyrical prowess. His voice is coarser than during his days as a quasi-country star, and ultimately more expressive. There's nary a miss on I Feel Alright, an album that easily stands the test of time.

This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2008.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...