Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen Jr. ( born January 11, 1956 in Houston, Texas) is an American songwriter and country musician. He is regarded as one of the major pioneers and representatives of the opposite the Nashville mainstream demarcating Alternative Country - direction.
Biography and career
With a father who had a leading position in the oil business and a mother who earned her living as a lawyer, financial distress in Earls childhood and youth were not an issue. From his parents, who want to mainly folk and country music, he also inherited his later main style preferences. In high school, he was initially limited to the writing of poems. After high school, Keen moved to the Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas where he studied journalism and at the same time learned to play the guitar. At A & M, he became friends with another well-known songwriter - Lyle Lovett. Together they wrote the song This Old Porch, they also grossed together.
His debut album No children Dancer, 1984 based on independent, in the state of North Carolina label Sugar Hill Records recorded, made at the beginning of his career for attention. His home state of Texas remained Keen, like a number of other Acts of country music, also with regard to the choice of residence faithfully. After a temporary detour in the capital of country music, Nashville / Tennessee, he returned to Austin. After the first live album ( The Live Album, 1988) he published in 1989 with West Textures his second studio disc, which contained among other things the song The Road Goes On Forever, who treated the subject crime. 1993 and 1994 was followed by the studio albums A Bigger Piece of Sky and Gringo Honeymoon. In contrast to ungeschliffeneren, roots -oriented sound of the first publications to Gringo Honeymoon oriented comparatively strongly to traditional country music.
The next two studio albums, from 1997 Picnic and Walking Distance of 1998 marked a return to the rawer sound of the early years. Picnic contained with Then Came Lo Mein also a vocal duet with the Cowboy Junkies singer Margo Timmins. The successor Walking Distance appeared at the Nashville-based label Arista and marked off - after seven recordings for Sugar Hill Records - which is also the next few years continuing search for an artistically and commercially optimal record company. 2000 signed the singer and musicians in the alternative country label Lost Highway. Here appeared the 2001 album Gravitational Forces. By 2005, followed by four more CDs: Farm Fresh Onions (2003 ), a best-of compilation from the time at the Sugar Hill Records called The Party Never Ends (2003), the live album Live From Austin TX ( 2004) and the date last release, What I Really Mean from the year 2005.
Continuous publications, regular airplay and a brisk tour presence ensured that Robert Earl Keen rapidly rising in his home state of Texas in the premier league of rock and country music. In particular, his live shows feilte the singer, guitarist and songwriter resistant. Keen is considered hard - working tour: In the nineties, he graduated with his backing by guitarist Rich Brotherton sometimes up to 200 concerts a year. To promote young talent appropriately, he integrated into his tours now also the annual Talent Festival Texas Uprising.
Style and reviews
A striking feature of Keen's career is that the dramatic ups and downs of many other musicians careers are largely lacking. In the New Country and alternative country music scene - particularly those of his home - state - is the name of Robert Earl Keen has long been a solid reference and starting point. For this purpose ensured not least the collaboration with other fellow musicians and high-profile producers such as Lloyd Maines of the scene (including Terri Hendrix, Joe Ely and Wilco ) and Chuck Ainlay (Mark Knopfler, Peter Hampton, Lyle Lovett and others). Regularly represented with contributions is Robert Earl Keen on various roots music samplers and Tribute of compilations.
Temperamentally Robert Earl Keen offers a versatile range - from sensitive ballads to hearty blues and honky- tonk numbers. Although he also worked as a songwriter quite a veritable name, lift reviews and Portraits forth especially his versatile musical stylistics, as well as his sense of humor, which comes to light again and again even at his concerts. Not "One thing is sure Robert Earl Keen: The online music magazine rocktimes.de characterized the Texans to mark the release of What I Really Mean with the words A country troubadour. Building on the fundus of Country, he perfected experience a blend of styles in which one folk, bluegrass and yes - even rock elements - naturally found. Sometimes the Eagles waving from the equally sunny Southern California. "
Discography
Albums
The fields marked with * albums are distributed in Germany via the independent label Glitter House.
- No Kinda Dancer ( 1984, Sugar Hill Records )
- The Live Album ( 1988, Sugar Hill Records )
- West Textures ( 1989, Sugar Hill Records )
- A Bigger Piece Of Sky ( 1993, Sugar Hill Records )
- Gringo Honeymoon ( 1994, Sugar Hill Records )
- No. 2 Live Dinner ( 1996, Sugar Hill Records )
- Picnic ( 1997, Sugar Hill Records ) *
- Walking Distance (1998; Arista Nashville )
- Farm Fresh Onions (2003; Audium Enterntainment ) *
- The Party Never Ends (2003, Sugar Hill Records ) *
- Live from Austin TX (2004; New West ) *
- What I Really Mean (2005; Koch Nashville ) *
- The Rose Hotel (2009)
- Ready for Confetti (2011)
Compilations (selection)
- This Is Americana 2 (2005; Americana Music Production )
- From Hell to Breakfast: A Taste of Sugar Hill 's Texas Singer- Songwriters (2002, Sugar Hill Records )
- Poet - A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt (2002, Catfish )