Steve Earle - Live At The BBC (Reissue) (2009)

Having established himself as one of the mid-80s’ most eloquent “new country” voices, Earle was boldly inviting Springsteen comparisons by 1988’s Copperhead Road album. He’s backed here by his very own E Street Band, The Dukes, on 13 songs from the London stage, just a fraction of the two-and-half-hour live shows he regularly delivered at the time.

The amps-up-to-11 guitar assault tends to swamp the previous subtlety of tracks such as San Antonio Girl and My Baby Worships Me, though Even When I’m Blue and Fearless Heart benefit from a more powerful and anthemic stadium rock approach. A cover of the Stones’ Dead Flowers pleases, but begins to overstay its welcome after five-and-a-half minutes.

Earle doesn’t entirely abandon the folk routes he would ultimately return to with flourish a decade or so later, and the real find for fans is his take on the Irish traditional When Will We Be Married?, a staple of The Waterboys’ own live set of the period.