I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

  • Summary: The politically active singer-songwriter returns with another album of country rock, produced by T-Bone Burnett.
  • Record Label: New West
  • Genre(s): Country, Americana, Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Progressive Country
  • More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 23
  2. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Apr 26, 2011
    91
    Earle has always forged armor out of his scars, and by that token, I'll Never Get Out is impregnable, yet achingly vulnerable.
  2. Apr 27, 2011
    80
    Earle is a busy man, writing novels, acting and recording but he has found time to make his 14th album full of wonderful moments.
  3. Apr 27, 2011
    80
    I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive's lone downer is Burnett's unnecessarily heavy-handed production. That said, Earle's vocals front and center in a brilliant song cycle transcend it.
  4. May 27, 2011
    60
    While Molly O oozes foreboding, Meet Me In the Alleyway is eerily reminiscent of The The and the Grammy-nominated This City is a genuine gem. [Jun 2011, p.114]

See all 23 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Steve Earle is in great form as a player and songwriter on this new album, and T-Bone Burnett may well have been born to be his producer. Spare and at times haunting, this is Earle at his most insightful. Highlights include Waitin' On the Sky, God is God, Every Part of Me and This City, which go straight to the Greatest Hits playlist. Expand
  2. Steve Earle's I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, has to be one of the most important CD's of 2011. "Ghosts sing sad western songs for the whole broken world." Steve Earle is about healing, recovery, being honest, open and willing to try an sort this mess out. He is a visionary not a Springsteen clone. This guy is stepping out of the box and I would say he has more of The Clash where Springsteen was U2. A guy who draws his art work, produces and makes sense out of the confusion. "Waitin' on the Sky" undid everything "Lucy in the Sky" did for me. Get this CD, this is a CD about grief and an artist trying to make sense of loss and his Dad's passing. OMG this one is why I love music and grateful for someone to take it to another level. Last thought from The Clash's song Clampdown... "What are we going to do now?" well I think this is the "what we are doing". Wake us up Steve, everyone is being awoken and it is the art of a man with a guitar. The only CD I bought in 2011. Collapse