In the current political climate, it's either extremely brave or extremely foolish (depending on your point of view) to write a song in praise of the American Taliban member John Walker Lindh. That, however, is exactly what the maverick Texas musician Steve Earle (a regular visitor to Ireland) has done on his latest album, a typically contrary affair that doesn't pull its punches when it comes to spelling out exactly what he thinks of the Bush administration. Taken as a whole, Jerusalem amounts to a kind of alternative State Of The Union address, railing against the fate of illegal Mexican immigrants, the fall-out from Vietnam, the American penal system and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - all through the medium of some seriously angry country-rock songs. Whether you agree with him on the issues or not, Earle's passion is impossible not to admire. At times, however, he wades out of his depth, with wordy lyrics that are just too clumsy to work within the confines of Nashville-style country music. Despite its inconsistency, Jerusalem is an enjoyably sour listen - although the suspicion lingers that for all his honourable motives, Earle is ultimately just a little too self-righteous for his own good.
