''Copperhead Road'' is the third studio album by

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

, released in 1988. The album is often referred to as Earle's first "rock record"; Earle himself calls it the world's first blend of heavy metal and bluegrass, and the January 26, 1989 review of the album by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' suggested that the style be called "power twang".

Composition

The songs on side one of the album reflect Earle's politics: the title track attacks the War on Drugs, and the song "

Snake Oil Snake oil is a term used to describe False advertising, deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, snake oil salesman is a common label used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless ...

" compares then president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to a traveling

con man A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...

and draws attention to his "legacy of creative deceit". The title track and "Johnny Come Lately" (performed with

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

) both describe the experiences of returning veterans. The latter compares the experience of US servicemen fighting in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with those in the Vietnam War, and contrasts the differing receptions they received on returning home. "Back to the Wall" is about

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, describing the life of the homeless in the US. The second side of the album consists of more traditional love songs and a Christmas-themed offering in "Nothing but a Child", a duet performed with

Maria McKee Maria Luisa McKee (born August 17, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her work with Lone Justice, her 1990 song " Show Me Heaven", and her song "If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)" from soundtrack of the film ...

Reception

In declaring ''Copperhead Road'' Rock Album of the Week on October 21, 1988, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described it as "exactly half of a brilliant album, with five smart, ornery, memorable story-songs." With references to

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

the paper applauded Earle for introducing country music's storytelling and three-chord structures to

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

and contemporary rock music. Side two, however, the ''Times'' dismissed as "strictly average" love songs and a "hokey" Christmas song. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', including it in the September 19, 1988, Critics' Choices, described it as a "rock-inflected, country-based album" that "takes long chances with big themes ... and does them proud". ''

'' published their review of ''Copperhead Road'' on January 26, 1989. Rob Tannenbaum wrote that the album "begins murderously and ends sentimentally ... split into two song cycles" and described the first side as being "as powerful as any music made this year". Of side two he admits disappointment at conventional love songs, saying Earle "has already examined this terrain and done a better job of it." Nonetheless, the review compares Earle to

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

, Bruce Springsteen, and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

among others, and concludes with ''Rolling Stone''s designation of Earle as an "important artist" and finding ''Copperhead Road'' worthy of four stars. Airplay on rock radio stations drove the title track into ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Album Rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM broadcasting, FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of Rock music, rock albums and is currently associated ...

Top Ten chart, and that in turn helped ''Copperhead Road'' on Billboard's Album Chart, where it peaked at number 56. Waylon Jennings covered " The Devil's Right Hand" on 1986's '' Will the Wolf Survive''. "I was a big Waylon Jennings fan", noted

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...

, who covered the song on 2014's '' Ride Out''. "I heard 'The Devil's Right Hand' in a movie called '' Betrayed'' in 1988. Every time I'd see it on cable, maybe once every five years, I'd say, 'Goddamn, that's a cool song. I want to do that some day.' And then, in maybe 2000, I found the movie in a movie bin, watched it and was like, 'Oh my god, Steve Earle wrote it! No wonder I like it. In 2000 it was voted number 412 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''.

Track listing

All tracks written by Steve Earle except where noted.

Original release (1988)

# " Copperhead Road" – 4:29 # "Snake Oil" – 3:31 # "Back to the Wall" – 5:29 # " The Devil's Right Hand" (arranged by Garry W. Tallent) – 3:04 # "Johnny Come Lately" – 4:11 # "Even When I'm Blue" – 4:14 # "You Belong to Me" – 4:25 # "Waiting on You" (Steve Earle, Richard Bennett) – 5:10 # "Once You Love" (Steve Earle, Larry Crane) – 4:39 # "Nothing but a Child" – 4:26

Deluxe edition (2008)

On April 29, 2008,

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

released a 2-disc deluxe edition of Copperhead Road. Disc one is the album as listed above, digitally remastered. Disc two features previously unreleased live recordings. Disc two # "The Devil's Right Hand" (live in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

– November 19, 1987) – 4:02 # "Fearless Heart" (live in Raleigh) – 4:32 # "San Antonio Girl" (live in Raleigh) – 4:23 # "Nobody but You" / "Continental Trailways Bus" (live in Raleigh) – 6:26 # "My Baby Worships Me" (live in Raleigh) – 3:33 # "Wheels" (

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

) (live in Raleigh) – 4:45 # "The Week of Living Dangerously" (live in Raleigh) – 7:26 # "Johnny Come Lately" (solo, live in Raleigh) – 3:55 # "Brown and Root" (

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

) (live in Raleigh) – 3:46 # "I Love You Too Much" (live in Raleigh) – 4:28 # "It's All Up to You" (Steve Earle, Harry Stinson) (live in Raleigh) – 6:11 # "

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

" (

) (solo, live – 1988) – 5:21 # "Copperhead Road" (live in

Calgary, Canada Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

– April 1989) – 4:08 # "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" (live in Calgary) – 3:52 # " Dead Flowers" (

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

) (live in Calgary) – 5:36 # "Little Sister" (Greg Trooper) (solo, live in Calgary) – 3:15 # "Guitar Town" (live in Calgary) – 2:36

Personnel

* Steve Earle – vocals, guitars, harmonica, 6-string bass, mandolin * Donny Roberts – guitars, 6-string bass * Bill Lloyd – acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar *

Bucky Baxter William "Bucky" Baxter (1955May 25, 2020) was an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of Steve Earle, Steve Earle and The Dukes and as a member of Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-90s during the Never Ending Tour. He released hi ...

– pedal steel, lap steel, Dobro * Ken Moore – synthesizer and organ *

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954, in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mo ...

– piano * Kelley Looney – bass * Kurt Custer – drums * Neil MacColl – mandolin on "Johnny Come Lately" *

John Cowan John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departure of original ...

Radney Foster Radney Muckleroy Foster (born July 20, 1959) is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recordi ...

– background vocals * Chris Birkett – drum programming on "You Belong to Me" * Gary Tallent – arrangement on "The Devil's Right Hand" *

played on "Johnny Come Lately" * Telluride played on "Nothing But a Child" The Pogues *

Terry Woods Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as the Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, the Bucks, Dr. St ...

–

cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...

* Phil Chevron – guitar, vocals *

Jem Finer Jeremy Max Finer (born 25 July 1955) is an English musician, artist and composer. He is one of the founding members of the Pogues. Early life Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the son of political scientist Samuel Finer, and the nephew ...

– banjo *

James Fearnley James Fearnley (born 9 October 1954, in Worsley) is an English musician. He plays accordion in the Pogues. Life and career As a child he was a choir treble before his voice changed at the age of sixteen. He took piano lessons but did not enjoy ...

– accordion *

Spider Stacy Peter Richard "Spider" Stacy (born 14 December 1958) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing tin whistle and sometimes singing for the Pogues. Early life Stacy grew up in Eastbourne. He left school ...

– tin whistle, vocals *

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...

– banjo, bodhran *

Darryl Hunt Darryl Hunt (February 24, 1965 – March 13, 2016) was an African-American man from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who, in 1984, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and the murder of Deborah Sykes, a young wh ...

– bass *

Andrew Ranken The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish phrase ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my ars ...

– drums Telluride *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

– mandolin *

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

– dobro *

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player, composer, guitarist, and mandolinist whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Mu ...

– violin *

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated ten times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

– bass violin Technical *Joe Hardy – recording, mixing *Chris Birkett – recording on "Johnny Come Lately" *Simon Levy – art direction *Jeff Morris – design *June Beard – patch design

Chart performance

Although no singles from the album were released in the U.S., three of the album's tracks were released as singles in the UK.

References

External links

''Rock 'n' roll rebel or country crusader?''
December 3, 1987, ''Hamilton Spectator'' – (Earle explains theme of ''Copperhead Road''). {{Authority control Steve Earle albums 1988 albums Songs of the Vietnam War Albums produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Uni Records albums