The Mountain (Steve Earle album)
# The Mountain (Steve Earle album)

Professional ratings :

| Review scores ||
| - | - |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| Orlando Sentinel | |
| Pitchfork | 8.8/10 |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| The Village Voice | A− |

The Mountain is the eighth studio album by Steve Earle, backed by the Del McCoury Band, and released in 1999 (see 1999 in music).

The album was a significant departure from Earle's previous work, being the first wholly bluegrass album he had written. Earle made the album as a tribute to the founder of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, who had died in 1996.

The album was nominated for a 2000 Grammy Award in the "Best Bluegrass Album" category (Earle's seventh Grammy nomination). Two tracks from the album were released as singles in the UK: "Dixieland" (distributed to radio only) and "The Mountain" (a commercial release).

Emmylou Harris performed the song "Pilgrim" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on July 10, 2017.

A cover of the song The Graveyard Shift is featured on Wanda Jackson's 2012 album Unfinished Business.

## Track listing

All tracks composed by Steve Earle

* "Texas Eagle"
* "Yours Forever Blue"
* "Carrie Brown"
* "I'm Still in Love With You" (Duet with Iris DeMent)
* "The Graveyard Shift"
* "Harlan Man"
* "The Mountain"
* "Outlaw's Honeymoon"
* "Connemara Breakdown"
* "Leroy's Dustbowl Blues"
* "Dixieland"
* "Paddy on the Beat"
* "Long, Lonesome Highway Blues"
* "Pilgrim"

## Personnel

* Steve Earle — guitar, vocal
* Del McCoury — guitar, vocal
* Ronnie McCoury — mandolin, vocal
* Robbie McCoury — banjo
* Jason Carter — fiddle
* Mike Bub — bass

### Additional artists

* Iris Dement - vocal (track 4)
* Sam Bush - mandolin (track 14)
* Jerry Douglas - resonator guitar (track 4, 14)
* Stuart Duncan - fiddle (tracks 4, 9, 12)
* Dan Gillis - tin whistle (track 11)
* Gene Wooten - resonator guitar (tracks 7, 10)
* Tony Fitzpatrick - Album Artwork

### Chorus on track 14

* Meghann Ahern
* Sam Bush
* Kathy Chiavola
* Cowboy Jack Clement
* Dave Ferguson
* Emmylou Harris
* John Hartford
* J.T. Huskey
* Lisa Huskey
* Benny Martin
* Tim O'Brien
* David Rawlings
* Peter Rowan
* Marty Stuart
* Gillian Welch

## Chart performance

| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
| - | - |
| Australian Albums (ARIA Charts) | 93 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 133 |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 14 |
