When Steve Earle says The Revolution Starts Now, he means N-O-W, now, dammit.

The idealistic and irascible roots-rock rabble-rouser has never delivered his message with greater urgency than he does on his latest politically charged manifesto. Written and recorded on the fly in the late spring, these 11 cuts find Earle and his Dukes picking up right where they left off on 2002's landmark disc Jerusalem and its controversy-magnet cut John Walker's Blues.

As he did on that tale of an American Taliban soldier, Earle continues to interweave his activist rhetoric with moving first-person narratives, setting stories of individual heroism and sacrifice against a backdrop of political hypocrisy and economic exploitation.

The sombre Rich Man's War pointedly stakes out the hardscrabble common ground that unites poor U.S. grunts in Iraq and Afghanistan with desperate Islamic militants in Gaza. Home to Houston is a twangy tale of a truck-drivin' Texan -- except he's piloting a tanker out of Basra and praying to make it back in one piece.

The title cut is a call to arms propelled by rangy Crazy Horse guitars, a dash of neo-psychedelic swirl and a surprisingly groovy backbeat.

Even more surprising, though -- and heartening -- is that the beleaguered Earle has retained his sense of humour. F the CC is a punky, expletive-laded spleen-vent that flips the bird to the FCC, the FBI, the CIA and right-wing radio hosts who branded him a traitor in the wake of John Walker.

We'd love to see their apoplectic faces when they hear the audacious Condi, Condi, a roots-reggae serenade of seduction pitched at -- yup -- U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. "Skank for me Condi, show me what you got / They say you're too uptight, I say you're not," Earle rumbles huskily, the smirk on his mug practically audible.

Hey, even revolutionaries need a laugh every now and then.

Track Listing
1. The Revolution Starts...
2. Home To Houston
3. Rich Man's War
4. Warrior
5. The Gringo's Tale
6. Condi, Condi
7. F The CC
8. Comin' Around
9. I Thought You Should Know
10. The Seeker
11. The Revolution Starts Now