Guitar Town

Guitar Town is the debut album from singer-songwriter Steve Earle, released on March 5, 1986. It topped the Billboard country album charts, and the title song reached #7 on the country singles charts. Earle was also nominated for two 1987 Grammy Awards, Best Male Country Vocalist and Best Country Song, for the title track.

For the song, see Guitar Town (song).
Guitar Town
Studio album by
Steve Earle
ReleasedMarch 5, 1986
StudioSound Stage Studios and Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry rock, rockabilly, Heartland rock
Length34:35
LabelMCA
ProducerEmory Gordy, Jr., Tony Brown
Associate Producer: Richard Bennett
Steve Earle chronology
Guitar Town
(1986)		 Exit 0
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Robert ChristgauA− [2]

Production

The album was recorded in late 1985 and early 1986 in Nashville, Tennessee, at Sound Stage Studio. Overdubs were later recorded at Nashville's Emerald Studios. It was one of the first country music albums to be recorded digitally, utilizing the Mitsubishi X-800. Each of the album's ten tracks was either written or co-written by Earle.

Reception and legacy

In 2003, the album was ranked number 489 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2012, the magazine ranked it at #482 on a revised list, calling it "the rocker's version of country, packed with songs about hard living in the Reagan Eighties."[3]

In 2006, it ranked 27th on CMT's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music. In 2016, the album was re-released as a 30th Anniversary Edition with a corresponding tour.

The title track was later covered by Emmylou Harris.

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Earle unless otherwise noted

  1. "Guitar Town" – 2:33
  2. "Goodbye's All We've Got Left" – 3:16
  3. "Hillbilly Highway" (Earle, Jimbeau Hinson) – 3:38
  4. "Good Ol' Boy (Gettin' Tough)" (Earle, Richard Bennett) – 3:58
  5. "My Old Friend the Blues" – 3:07
  6. "Someday" – 3:46
  7. "Think It Over" (Bennett, Earle) – 2:13
  8. "Fearless Heart" – 4:04
  9. "Little Rock 'n' Roller" – 4:49
  10. "Down the Road" (Tony Brown, Earle, Hinson) – 2:37

Bonus track on 2002 Remastered CD

  1. "State Trooper" [live] (Bruce Springsteen)

Personnel
The Dukes
Additional musicians
Technical

Chart performance

Album
Chart (1986) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1
U.S. Billboard 200 89
Canadian RPM Top Albums 82

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country CAN Country
1986 "Hillbilly Highway" 37 46
"Guitar Town" 7 7
"Someday" 28 31
1987 "Goodbye's All We Got Left" 8 10

Certifications
Organization Level Date
RIAA – USA Gold March 29, 1999

References
  1. Deming, Mark. "Guitar Town - Steve Earle". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
  2. "CG: Steve Earle". Robert Christgau. 2007-10-04. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
  3. Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone – Special Collectors Issue – The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. ISBN 978-7-09-893419-6
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