Steve Earle & The Dukes pay homage to Guy Clark
New album a tribute to late Texas troubadour
To get a big laugh out of Steve Earle, just tell him that you’re taking his phone call while pulled over at a truck stop in Cibolo.
That’s because the San Antonio-raised singer-songwriter and author can still picture every back-road, greasy-spoon haunt around these parts.
The New York-based musician is back this week to play a showcase at the South by Southwest Music Festival and a gig at the Luck Reunion. He’s promoting his upcoming album, “Guy” (New West Records), with his band The Dukes — a tribute to his late friend, Grammy-winning songwriter Guy Clark.
Ask Earle what Clark, whom is considered by many to be the greatest of the Texas troubadour songwriters, might think of the prospect of such a project, and that will elicit a chuckle, too.
“Guy wasn’t real effusive about my stuff,” said Earle, 64. “A compliment was, ‘Good work’; and criticism was, ‘Needs work.’ ”
They never wrote a song together.
Clark, who died in May 2016 at 74, would be happy about the new record, though. Earle is in good voice, the song selection is superb and the band rocks.
Earle needs little prompting to talk about Clark, a musician whom he befriended and began performing with in 1974.
He’s questioned about Texas songwriters all the time, he said, and told Rolling Stone earlier this year that his heroes Clark and Townes Van Zandt are, for him, akin to beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
“It’s a Texas thing,” he said. “People always ask me, ‘What is it about Texas songwriters that makes them great?’ Guy was a Texas guy. We all followed him.”
The 16-song album in-
cludes the songs “Dublin Blues,” “L.A. Freeway,” “Texas 1947,” “Desperadoes Waiting For a Train,” “The Ballad of Laverne and Captain Flint,” “The Randall Knife,” “The Last Gunfighter Ballad” and “Old Friends.”
The album goes on sale March 29.
“Guy” offers guest appearance from Terry Allen, Jerry Jeff Walker, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, harmonica player Mickey Rafael, Jo Harvey Allen and Nashville photographer Jim McGuire.
McGuire’s inclusion is an inspired choice. He plays a little Dobro guitar and was especially dear to the songwriter, who loved his friend’s blackand-white images.
“You have to underthe stand that Guy was an art director and a painter before he decided to write with a vengeance,” McGuire said.
“We had a running joke for over 40 years, Guy asking me to get my (Dobro) chops up so I could go on the road with him. I do regret that never happened …so it was sweet to be asked to play a small part on Steve’s tribute album.”
It’s a perfect touch for loving and intimate record.
During those last couple of years, when Clark’s health worsened, Earle often made the pilgrimage to visit.
“I was making it a point to see him when he got sick,” he said.
Former Express-News music columnist Jim Beal Jr. said it’s only natural Earle would pay tribute to Clark.
“Guy and Townes (Van Zandt) were Steve’s main songwriting influences. Steve has always been great about giving credit to both,” Beal said. “He did a Townes tribute, and now it’s Guy’s turn.”
For Beal, Clark’s ability as a songwriter to balance the serious side of life with humor made him a stellar writer.
“Guy Clark was an absolute craftsman and artist when it comes to writing songs,” he said. “He seemed to never cut corners, never waste words and always hit that balance between the personal and the universal.”
Earle absolutely agrees. It’s about the songs, not just the long friendship. He’s performed about half of the songs on the record for years.
“I recorded the songs I was most connected to and then picked half that I always wanted to do,” he said.
And he said he’s gained a lot of insight from making “Guy” and “Townes.” “Guy was way more disciplined than Townes and way more prolific,” he said.
Schreiner University English professor, music journalist and author Kathleen Hudson interviewed Earle years ago for her first book.
She recounted how Earle left Texas in search of Clark and would ask the legendary songwriter and his wife, Suzanna, for their opinions about a new song.
“And Steve Earle now carries the banner for serious songwriting and the mythos of Texas music,” Hudson said.
Earle’s SXSW showcase with his band The Dukes will be 11 p.m. Friday at Mohawk Outdoor, 912 Red River St. in Austin.
The set list will be mostly “Guy” material. It will come straight from the heart.
He joked that he’s got a good reason for getting the project just right. “I didn’t want to run into the (expletive) on the other side.”