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The current pictures from the USA show it more and more clearly: America is divided, it threatens to break apart. The US president does not care about the health protection of his population, but sees the corona pandemic solely from the standpoint of “re-election” and “the economy has to make profits again”. While his followers in Heartland are militarily protesting the infection control regulations, a disproportionate number of poor and colored people are dying. A disaster for what was once the most powerful country in the world.
As Steve Earle his new album The Gosts Of West Virginia worked out and recorded, there was no thought of the Corona disaster. But the split was there. Steve Earle, left country singer-songwriter, didn’t want to put up with the fact that the miners of all people who played an important role in the history of progressive America through hard labor struggles such as the “Harlan County War” in Kentucky in the 1930s, today in the opposite political camps are located.
West Virginia, like Kentucky, is one of the United States’ coalfields. In the past, the industry was vital for the US economic system, but today it is an extinct industry. The result: Where once proud miners lived in relative social security after successful labor disputes, there is now unemployment and a lack of prospects. And although Trump is a representative of the ruling economic elite, the residents of the area are largely its voters and hope for its “America First” policy.
That’s where Earle started. He did not want to insult these Trump voters as racists or rights, but to take their concerns seriously: the dwindling pride of the miners, unemployment, the worry of “no longer being worth”, poverty and lack of prospects. The practices of the mining companies include: poor safety standards in the mines and anti-union behavior when the miners try to defend their interests, which they often shy away from out of fear of unemployment.
The socialist Earl is concerned with entering into dialogue with these people. So he took up a topic that burned himself into the soul of the people in West Virginia: The “Upper Big Branch Disaster” on April 5, 2010, one of the largest pit accidents in the history of the USA, in which 29 buddies died. He wrote part of the songs for the play “Coal Country”, and there were also other pieces about the people and the region as well as the traditional John Henry.
In “Union, God And Country” he takes on the challenging task of acquiring these people’s perspectives and, even if he does not share their political views, to treat them with respect. With a brisk bluegrass folk he succeeds credibly and honestly. “Devil Put The Coal in The Ground” is then a somber lament about the hard working conditions in the mine. Of course, “John Henry” fits very well into the context of the old folk song about the struggle between man and machine. Further highlights on the album are “It’s About Blood”, “Black Lung” and “The Mine”, all of which relentlessly describe the realities of life for people in the mining area.
Rarely since Merle Travis’ groundbreaking album “Folksongs Of The Hills” has the mining world been presented by a country musician as vividly as musically enthralling. Again he is supported on the long player by his “dukes”. In particular, the crystal-clear vocals by Eleanor Whitmore on “Heaven Ain’t Goin ‘Nowhere” or “If I Could See Your Face Again” create the right melancholic atmosphere.
Conclusion: Even if this album shouldn’t expect any commercial laurels and given the deserved attention due to the corona crisis, it underlines Steve Earle’s exceptional position as a socially empathetic and committed country singer-songwriter who always combines his concerns with strong music .
Steve Earle & The Dukes – The Ghosts Of West Virginia: Das Album
title: The Ghosts Of West Virginia
Artist: Steve Earle & The Dukes
Release date: 22. May 2020
Label: New West Records (Rough Trade)
Formats: CD, Vinyl & Digital
running time: 29:46 Min.
Tracks: 10
Genre: Americana
Track list: (The Ghosts Of West Virginia)
01. Heaven Ain’t Goin‘ Nowhere
02. Union, God And Country
03. Devil Put The Coal In The Ground
04. John Henry Was A Steel Drivin‘ Man
05. Time Is Never On Our Side
06. It’s About Blood
07. If I Could See Your Face Again – feat. Eleanor Whitmore
08. Black Lung
09. Fastest Man Alive
10. The Mine
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