AMG Review of Rarities Edition: Copperhead Road

Thom Jurek
All Music Guide

While Universal Music makes no attempt to hide it, it’s important for the informed consumer to look closely at the single-disc Rarities Edition series. These CDs are simply the bonus discs packaged inside their double-disc slipcased Deluxe Editions of the albums they represent; they do not contain the original album even though the cover art is the same. This volume was the second disc in the Deluxe Edition of Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road. It contains 17 live tracks from three different performances. The first 11 are taken from a concert from Raleigh, NC, with the Exit 0 edition of the Dukes that preceded the recording of the album, though it contains a roaring version of “The Devil’s Right Hand” and a fine solo version of “Johnny Come Lately.” His storied solo acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” from 1988 is included here, too. Finally, five cuts that were released as bonuses and B-sides are included from a show in Calgary in 1988, and reveal an intense new edition of the Dukes. If you have the single-disc version of Copperhead Road, this is an excellent companion piece.