Harlem River Blues

 (39 customer reviews)

Harlem River Blues is the kind of album that makes me wish that more people I knew listened to Country music. I run in several different musical circles. Many of the jazz lovers I know laugh at me for my love of Indie Rock. And for many of the Indie and Alternative Rock fans I know, the Alternative-Country thing doesn't exist. To them there is only Country, and they don't like Country music much.

But an album like this can remind us that good music is just good music, no matter what category you want to put it in. I'll even go so far as to call this "great music" because it resonated with me personally in a way that I think is great. Your individual tastes may vary so please forgive me if this is not your cup of tea.

Some people might think a country album inspired by New York City to be a contradiction. I think...Read more

I was waiting patiently for my cd copy when Amazon dangled a three dollar download in front of my face. Seemed like a fair price to pay to hear it a day early. Things sure have changed for Justin. He grew up without famous father Steve, developed a nasty drug habit by the age of 12 and actually ended up in his father's band The Dukes. That was before he was given the boot for his drug use. Kicked out of The Dukes for drug use? Considering pop eventually went to prison for his drug use, I can only imagine. These days, Justin is the 2009 best new artist for the Americana Music Awards, one of GQ's best dressed men and a resident of New York City just like his dad. "Harlem River Blues" is a hillbilly soul, backwoods twanger of a dustbowl folk album about New York City. Some of my favorites include the gospel choir backed, toe tapping title track. Should I be clapping my hands as the main character heads for a watery demise in the Harlem River? "Move Over Mama" sounds straight out of the...Read more

It takes a certain brilliance to dupe listeners. Justin Townes Earle pulls it off marvelously. HARLEM RIVER BLUES sounds like it could have been been written/performed in the 50s or 60s (except "Rogers Park," which is appropriately modern-sounding). It's a largely acoustic-based record ("Slippin' and Slidin'" is a more electric blues number), with melodic influences firmly rooted in Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, etc. "Ain't Waitin'" is such a tune, with a driving acoustic riff that conjures up beer halls and back alleys...which is why, when he sings "I put a country station on that satellite radio," it comes off as a major revelation.

Almost every song on here manages to blend the past and present. On "Working for the MTA," a chugging number which artfully (and subtly) compares running a subway train to working in a coal mine, Earle bemoans: "This ain't my daddy's train/Mama I ain't seen the sun in days." Lyrically, Earle comes off as a mixture between Warren Zevon and...Read more