The Definitive Collection

In 1986, Steve Earle made a powerful enough entrance to mainstream country to establish himself for years to come. A decade later, he was someone else entirely. Earle, it turned out, was an artist far more complex than Nashville was accustomed to. When he did things the Music Row way, doors opened. But within a couple of years he began an unexpected 360 by embracing less fashionable musical forms, winning a near-lethal struggle with substance abuse and reinventing himself. As an artist courageously addressing serious social issues, he confronted matters that politically and socially conservative Nashville could not would not abide, not in the 1960s, the 1980s or the first years of the new Century. It would have been simple for Steve Earle to simply play the game. But in the end he summoned the courage (that 'fearless heart' he sang of) to not only triumph over problems that could have killed him, he took risks to set his own artistic path. By doing so, he's created an enduring body of work that has yet to end. First Multi-Label Retrospective On This Important Modern Singer-Songwriter. Includes His Debut Single For Epic Plus Tracks From MCA, Uni, Winter Harvest, American Originals & Warner Bros. Labels. The Artist's Highlights 1983 To 1997. Liner Notes By Musicologist Rich Kienzle.