Maria McKee

Copperhead Road is an American country music/country rock album released in 1988 by Steve Earle. Often referred to as Earle's 'rock record', Earle himself calls it the world's first blend of heavy metal and bluegrass, while in their January 26, 1989 review of the album Rolling Stone suggested the style be known as 'power twang'. The title song 'Copperhead Road' tells of a Vietnam War veteran, scion of a rural moonshine bootlegging clan, who returns home to Johnson County, Tennessee (Copperhead Road is an actual road near [Has been renamed as Copperhead Hollow Rd. due to theft of road signs bearing the song's name]Mountain City, Tennessee). The song also inspired a popular line dance timed to the beat of the song. The songs on side one of the album reflect Earle's politics: the title track attacks the War on Drugs, and the song 'Snake Oil' compares then president Ronald Reagan to a traveling con man and draws attention to his 'legacy of creative deceit'. 'Johnny Come Lately' (performed with The Pogues) compares the experience of US servicemen fighting in World War II with those in the Vietnam War, and contrasts the differing receptions they received on returning home. 'Back to the Wall' is about poverty. Unlike some issues-oriented musicians, however, Earle does not limit himself to political material. The second side of the album consists of apolitical works: love songs ('Even When I'm Blue' for example) and a holiday offering ('Nothing but a Child', performed here with Maria McKee]).