I Feel Alright is the sixth studio album by Steve Earle, released in 1996.

I Feel Alright
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 5, 1996
Genre
Length38:57
LabelE-Squared Records
ProducerRay Kennedy and Richard Bennett (tracks: 1, 5, 8 to 12), Richard Dodd (tracks: 2 to 4, 6 and 7)
Steve Earle chronology
Train a Comin'
(1995)
I Feel Alright
(1996)
El Corazón
(1997)

The title track was featured in the closing scenes of the Port in a Storm, the final episode of The Wire season 2.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide   [3]
Entertainment WeeklyA[2]
Los Angeles Times    [4]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide     [5]
Rolling Stone     [6]
Spin9/10[7]

Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Alanna Nash gave I Feel Alright an "A" grade. She wrote, "If I Feel Alright doesn’t deliver the grit that has been Earle’s gift to rock and country, his roots-rock joie de vivre sends no apologies, only a healthy message for the ’90s: Don’t feel bad about feeling good."[2]

Accolades

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Organization/Publication Year Accolade Position Reference
Eye Weekly (Canada) 1996 "Albums of the year" 8 [8]
Guitar Player (USA) 1997 "Best Country Guitar album" 3 [9]
Nashville Music Awards (USA) 1997 best rock album * [10]
Spin (USA) 1999 "Top 90 Albums of the 90s" 75 [11]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Steve Earle

No.TitleLength
1."Feel Alright"3:04
2."Hard-Core Troubadour"2:41
3."More Than I Can Do"2:37
4."Hurtin' Me, Hurtin' You"3:21
5."Now She's Gone"2:48
6."Poor Boy"2:55
7."Valentine's Day"2:59
8."The Unrepentant"4:31
9."CCKMP"4:30
10."Billy and Bonnie"3:39
11."South Nashville Blues"2:28
12."You're Still Standin' There"3:24
Total length:38:57

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • Steve Earle — guitars, harmonica, vocals
  • Richard Bennett, Ray Kennedy - guitar
  • Kelly Looney, Garry Tallent, Roy Huskey, Jr., Ric Kipp - bass
  • Kurt Custer, Greg Morrow - drums
  • Ken Moore - organ
  • Richard Bennett - harmonium
  • Lucinda Williams - vocals on "You're Still Standin' There"
  • Kurt Custer, Richard Bennett, Greg Morrow, Dub Cornett - percussion
  • Custer & Logan, The Fairfield Four (musical director: Mark Prentice), Lucinda Williams, Ms. Williams' stunt double Siobhan Maher - vocals
  • Kris Wilkerson - string arrangement and conductor
  • Carl Gordetzky, Pamela Sixfin, Richard Grosjean - violin
  • Lee Larrison - viola
  • Robert Mason - cello

Cover Art

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Production

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Ray Kennedy and Richard Bennett (tracks: 1, 5, 8 to 12), Richard Dodd (tracks: 2 to 4, 6 and 7)

Releases

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year format label catalog #
1996 CD Warner Bros. Records 46201
1996 cassette Warner Bros. Records 46201
1996 CD Transatlantic 227

Charts

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year chart peak
1996 The Billboard 200 106

Notes and sources

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  1. ^ a b c Kurt Wolf, Review: I Feel Alright", Allmusic
  2. ^ a b c Nash, Alanna (1996-03-08). "I Feel Alright". Entertainment Weekly.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000-10-15). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 9780312245603.
  4. ^ Appleford, Steve (1996-03-09). "Album Reviews: Earle's Back With New Ease, Naturalness on 'Alright'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  5. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 268. ISBN 9780743201698.
  6. ^ McLeese, Don (1998-02-02). "Steve Earle: I Feel Alright". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  7. ^ Aaron, Charles (April 1996). "Steve Earle: I Feel Alright". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. p. 105. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  8. ^ Eye Weekly (Canadian cross-country critics poll), 1996
  9. ^ "27th Annual Guitar Player Readers Poll", Guitar Player, 31:2, February 1997, p. 40-41 (tie for 3rd place w/ Dwight Yoakam's Gone, behind Junior Brown's Semi Crazy, and Steve Wariner's No More Mr. Nice Guy)
  10. ^ Deborah Evans Price, "Nashville Awards Celebrate More Than Just Country", Billboard, 109:8, February 22, 1997, p. 26,28
  11. ^ "Spin's Top 90 Albums of the 90's"