(Sugar Hill, CD & LP, 2001)
Rodney Crowell has been an established figure in country and Americana music since the early 1970’s when country artists started having hits with his songs. Emmylou Harris asked him to join her band in 1975, and he began releasing solo albums in 1978. He continued to be successful as a songwriter while building his solo career, and has received many awards. His first four albums, all of which have at least some good things on them, earned him an enthusiastic following and many favorable if not rave reviews. But – not astronomic sales. He finally attained major success with his fifth album, 1988’s Diamonds & Dirt, which begat five #1 singles. At the time you will be reading this review his solo catalog will number some 25 albums, not including assorted collections. (#25 has a release date of 8/29/25.)
Crowell is an intelligent, reflective observer of the human condition, and writes songs that relate to real people as all too few other popular songwriters can. Different songs of his reach people in different ways, but the depth and sensitivity of his songs is notable. Many critics suggest that a trio of albums he released in 2001, 2003, and 2005 represent his best work. I could as easily review the second of that trio, 2003’s Fate’s Right Hand, instead of this one, and was tempted to do so as it is also an excellent album and some critics prefer it. However in my (never) humble opinion this 2001 release was his best of that trio and is my all-time favorite Crowell album.
There are what I would call... well, a couple of turkeys on this album, but on the whole the material is very strong. I shouldn’t and won’t take the space to comment on all of the good songs here, but to mention just a few: The lead cut, “Telephone Road” is a wonderful rocker about Crowell’s Houston childhood. Next, “The Rock of My Soul” takes the tempo down but notches up the intensity with a different, moving narrative of growing up. “Why Don’t We Talk About It” is a lament about broken relationships that is both musically crafted and emotionally affecting.
“I Walk the Line (Revisited)” is a highlight, weaving Crowell’s reflections on hearing the classic song by his sometime father-in-law, Johnny Cash, in with parts of Cash’s own vocals of that song in an almost duet-like style... most impressive! “Topsy Turvy” is a rockin’ observation of a dysfunctional family that becomes an earworm for me pretty much every time I hear it. The album closes with “I Know Love Is All I Need,” a slower but touching, melodic and well-performed tribute to the power of love, that – at least to my ear – transcends maudlin sentimentality by its beauty.
The musicianship of Crowell and the sidepeople is strong, the songwriting is nothing short of first-rate, and production is very good. All that said, this album may not be to everyone’s taste. It requires something of a receptiveness to Americana and/or rock/pop types of music. For those of you not hindered by preconceptions and rigidly defined musical taste, well... this album is absolutely and unquestionably worth a listen. More than that, it deserves to be remembered and not forgotten.
Until just last year this album was available only as CD and via streaming. Analog evangelist that I am, I am gratified to note that it was released in 2024 on 180g vinyl by the company Vinyl Me Please. While that company has a troubled recent past, its album is apparently available through Acoustic Sounds which is certainly reliable. I would love to have it in my anxious hands and ready to comment on for this review – and would, save for the $45 price tag. Oh well, another album to go on my Christmas want list...
Remembering Tom Lehrer
America lost a cultural icon July 26th with the passing of Tom Lehrer, at age 97. Despite the facts that his last (non-compilation) album was released in 1965 and his last full public performance was in 1972, he is likely well-known to many Muse readers. The impact of his musical satire – his humor and his genius – was enormous in the 60’s into the 70’s, and his legacy echoes nationally and internationally into the present and the future. He is often cited as an influence by musicians and humorists in American and around the world.
He was especially popular in England, where the University of London gave him a Doctor of Music degree. The BBC awarded him the distinction of banning 10 of the 12 songs from one of his albums. (One of my favorite Lehrer quotes: “You can’t be satirical and not be offensive to somebody.”) A London stage musical, Tomfoolery, based on his work, premiered there in 1980, and migrated to America as an off-Broadway production the following year.
When Lehrer quit music it was because he viewed it as a sideline to his “real” career as a university teacher, primarily of mathematics but occasionally musical theater history and other subjects. Wikipedia has a good article about him, updated since his passing, and individual sites dedicated to his albums. YouTube has interesting interviews with him, as well as clips of him performing his music.
I was a senior in high school when a friend introduced me to the album, That Was the Year that Was (1965). I still think it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard, and I can still sing many (well, some) of the songs on it by heart... If you aren’t familiar with it, check it out. Or if you are familiar with it and just haven’t listened to it in a long time, do pull it off your shelf and listen to it again. Or it’s readily available streaming.
Thanks for the memories, Tom, and for your significant contributions to humor and satire. We are the richer for them.