The Revolution Starts...Now (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Steve Earle (vocals, guitar, mandola, harmonica, harmonium, organ); Steve Earle; Kelly Looney (vocals, bass guitar); Dr. Edward O. Henry, David Angell (violin); Chris Carmichael (viola); David Henry (cello); Eric Ambel (vocals, guitar); Will Rigby (vocals, drums, percussion); Emmylou Harris (vocals); Patrick Earle (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Ray Kennedy.

Recording information: Room & Board, Hermitage, TN.

Illustrator: Brad Talbott.

Photographer: Glen Rose.

Arranger: Chris Carmichael.

Steve Earle is widely known as a tireless political activist who's not afraid to use his music to further the causes for which he fights. In 2004, America was in dire need of forward-looking activism, and Earle responded with THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW. The album was written and recorded quickly in order for Earle to get his two cents in before the Presidential election, and it turned out to be both his most overtly political and most effectively concise offering to date.

With a mix of country and straightforward rock & roll, Earle engages in rabble-rousing (the title track), tells the tales of people victimized by the war in Iraq ("Home to Houston," "Rich Man's War"), and lambasts stifling conservative forces on the homefront ("F the CC"). There are a couple of love songs thrown in for good measure, and they're all the more affecting for their marked contrast. THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW seamlessly blends the personal and the political without a trace of mawkishness or didacticism. minimize