Country rocker Steve Earle was politically aware before it was 'fashionable'. When the vast majority of America was still behind President Bush in his war on terror, Earle was the first to hear a counter-voice on his album Jerusalem (2002), something that many of his countrymen did not thank him for. On The Revolution Starts ... Now he again does not mince words. Steve Earle is angry and everyone
… should know. 'Fuck the FBI, fuck the CIA, livin' in the motherfucking USA '(F the CC) is language that has hardly been heard in country songs, although Earle is perhaps even more convincing with narrative songs like Rich Man's War and The Gringo's Tale. Although the politically tinted songs set the tone, there is also plenty of personal songs such as Coming Around (a duet with Emmylou Harris), The Seeker and the wry love song I Thought You Should Know. All in all, a varied, convincing record by a militant musician. (MS)more
