Yuma is Justin Townes Earle’s legendary debut EP, banged out over a weekend so he’d have something to sell on his first tour. Alone with his guitar, harmonica, and 6 of his best songs, Yuma is a no-frills production that crackles with the raw energy of a live set. This new reissue finally elevates Yuma’s sound and packaging to the level of its importance in the story of a now-legendary artist whose reputation has only grown since his shocking death in 2020. Remastered for the first time from the original, high-resolution sources by 5-time Grammy winner and Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Waylon Jennings), cut at 45 RPM by Jeff Powell, and pressed on gold 180-gram vinyl, Yuma sounds better than anyone could imagine. The packaging has been lovingly reworked to include new liner notes from JTE’s friend and collaborator Joshua Black Wilkins, full lyrics, and a heavyweight lithograph of a previously unpublished photo of Justin from the EP’s cover shoot.
