Steve Earle & The Dukes - Ghosts of West Virginia (2020) Hi-Res

As Steve Earle has built a rising profile in the theater and acting worlds, his original music output has run thin. After 2000's Transcendental Blues, he's recorded a talky political manifesto, The Revolution Starts Now; Washington Square Serenade, a presumptuous bid to be part of NYC folk history; separate albums covering both Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt and the inevitable blues album with a Robert Johnson-referencing title.

Now comes Ghosts of West Virginia, which draws on Earle's love for American history and his support of the labor movement. Composed for the documentary play Coal Country (about the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners), these short, bluegrass-influenced songs are pleasant if unmemorable, constrained by being a soundtrack to a pre-existing story. Dedicated to Kelly Looney, the longtime bassist for the Dukes, Ghosts was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in NYC by longtime Earle engineer Ray Kennedy. It benefits from the presence of a pair longtime collaborators—guitarist Chris Masterson and vocalist/fiddle player Eleanor Whitmore (heard on the love song, "If I Could See Your Face"). The big change is Earle's voice, now gruff and haggard, lacking much of its former expressiveness. It makes a song like "The Mine" a tough listen, though it adds the right atmosphere to "Black Lung"—and his gift of twangin’ rock and roll thankfully reappears on "Fastest Man Alive." Meant as a visual accompaniment, Ghosts is a placeholder for Earle completists and dedicated fans.