Courtesy of myspace.com/steveearlemusic

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Political activist, rocker, folkie, songwriter and author Steve Earle returns to the Rialto Theatre Friday for a follow-up to his 2006 acoustic concert with then new wife, Allison Moorer.

It's a safe bet Earle won't be shy about his political opinions; he never is. But he also may reveal a bit of his romantic side.

Earle, the tormented, respected, sometimes reviled but never ignored troubadour and rattler of our collective conscience, is mushy in love.

He's in love with his wife of three years, Moorer — a country singer and go-to back-up vocalist for everyone from the Celtic giants The Chieftains to rock-rapper Kid Rock — and he's in love with his adopted city, New York, where he lives in the musically storied Greenwich Village.

The ghosts of his long-moved-on peers engage him from his neighborhood — the street where Bob Dylan huddled against the snowy cold with girlfriend Suze Rotolo in the cover shot for 1962's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," and the corners where many in their youth busked for pennies and pints.

Earle recalls those times in the Village and the music on his latest album, "Washington Square Serenade."

The disc is pure pop, with love songs in the vein of Dylan and The Beatles, with a few signature political rants for good measure, including the anthem "Steve's Hammer," dedicated to Pete Seeger. It's uplifting, which some might argue is a welcome departure, and emphasizes Earle's conviction that music has a role in social justice.

He and Moorer also co-wrote a love song, "Days Aren't Long Enough," which they will surely sing Friday.

Earle wasn't available for an interview, but, in press materials, he said "Serenade" is a true expression of where he is personally.

"I don't think I've ever made an apolitical record. The last two before this ('The Revolution Starts . . . Now' (2004) and 'Jerusalem' (2002)) were overtly political, and unapologetically so. This one is unapologetically personal," he said.