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Earle's polemics are much stronger than the work of your typical "protest" songwriter, and this is a better focused and more passionate work than Jerusalem.
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Good as some of these songs are... they're not quite enough to foment a revolution
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PopMattersReview#1: Revolution is a resounding triumph due to Earle's determination to address a plague of uncertainties from a variety of vantage points. [score=80]; Review#2: The release of this record two and a half months before we have to enter the voting booths should offer solace and inspiration to those ready to act. [score=80]
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MojoIt's a fine album, mixing lean rock anthems... with the kind of ballads lesser artists would need years to write. [Oct 2004, p.116]
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Q MagazineAll hail the new Johnny Cash. [Oct 2004, p.132]
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Rolling StoneThe rugged guitar tunes resemble a cow-punk update of the Clash, and Earle's song-to-song perspective shifts dazzle. [2 Sep 2004, p.142]
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For those inclined to agree with Earle's politics--at this point, does anyone else buy his albums?--The Revolution Starts Now will probably remain in constant rotation through the election.
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SpinHis characters feel like individuals, not archetypes. [Sep 2004, p.114]
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Merges twang, orneriness and compassion. [6 Sep 2004]
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BlenderHe's more vehement than ever before, and the music feels rag-and-bone honest. [Sep 2004, p.136]
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A couple of songs (including the goofy "Condi, Condi") seem out of place, but the heart of "The Revolution" carries the stamp of an artist and a patriot. [22 Aug 2004]
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Where Jerusalem was all reaction, humanely riddled with helplessness and incomprehension, The Revolution Starts...Now is the well-honed response, a focused act of civil disobedience.
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While the record finds Earle at his most outspoken, it also finds him treading water stylistically, comfortably wearing down the same groove he's occupied since 1997's El Corazon.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 10
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Mixed: 1 out of 10
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Negative: 2 out of 10
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RichardHJun 30, 2005
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PaulMFeb 11, 2005
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HarlanTJan 19, 2005I cried the first time I heard "Rich Man's War." This is the finest of modern protest music.