IN BRIEF: : *** Steve Earle & the Dukes, “The Hard Way,” MCA.: <i> Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic). </i>

Among those on whom Texas-raised Earle casts his sharp eye for detail on his fourth album are “Hopeless Romantics,” a “Country Girl,” a “Regular Guy” and a resigned death row con--in other words, the usual suspects. But he’s served them up with his most accomplished hybrid of unpolished rock and country yet and the matured storytelling skill of someone who’s become a seasoned veteran without losing his young rebel’s edge. Among the “instruments” he’s listed as playing: motorcycle. You get the idea.