Steve Earle has often had to labour under comparisons with Bruce Springsteen.

It’s an occupational hazard if you write state-of-the-nation anthems about blue-collar life.

But the maverick country singer invited it with his Boss-esque three-hour set of, crikey, 33 songs.

Great value for money, but it meant an oddly paced concert with Earle acting as his own warm-up man.

For instance, the show was five numbers in before he played anything other than ho-hum new album I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive.

Still, once Earle and his five-piece band – including his wife, country star Allison Moorer – cranked up the early songs, things started to catch fire.

There were cheers for My Old Friend The Blues and Guitar Town before Earle let Moorer, a stunning singer, close the first hour with three numbers.

The second half kicked off with a stomping Copperhead Road, but Earle dismissed his most famous anthem with a “That’s sorted”.

Between songs, the engaging Earle, an outspoken lefty, talked about the anger that fuels his work, from attitudes to immigration and the loss of trade unions to gun control and the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.

It put superb versions of Harlan Man, Devil’s Right Hand and This City into context.

Still, the more personal songs were the best, particularly butt-kicking Hard Core Troubadour and The Unrepentant.

Even so, the second half dragged as Earle gave solo spots to the rest of the band.

Maybe democracy isn’t always a good thing, Steve.