Country singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell is forever young, indeed.
|
|
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
|
|
|
|
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
|
|
Rodney Crowell
By Jeff Prince
Rodney Crowell seems eternally young, and not just because he’s still skinny and curly-locked, with a firm jaw line and a high, sweet voice that sounds completely un-ravaged by cigarettes and late nights. He’s also idealistic, a wide-eyed sage. Yet Crowell is no tadpole. He was writing songs in Nashville in 1972 with pickers such as Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. In the cult documentary Heartworn Highways, Crowell can be seen playing guitar in Clark’s living room on Christmas Eve 1975, alongside a then-20-year-old Steve Earle. Crowell was recruited into Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band shortly after Gram Parsons died, and he wrote some of her early solo hits, such as “‘Til I Gain Control Again,” “Ain’t Living Long Like This,” and “Leavin’ Louisiana In the Broad Daylight.” He was married to Johnny Cash’s daughter, Rosanne, during her 1980s heyday and served as producer on her first five studio albums, including the fantastic Seven Year Ache. He’s got a Grammy on his mantel and his bust in the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Everyone from the Grateful Dead to Andy Williams to the Oakridge Boys has warbled his tunes. He’s recorded a dozen solo albums himself, with the last three — The Houston Kid (2001), Fate’s Right Hand (2003), and the recently released The Outsider — earning vast critical acclaim. In his trademark tight t-shirts, the dude still looks bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but he’s a veteran through and through, steeped in the state’s musical history, dating back to the original Outlaw movement led by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson down in Austin. Somehow, though, Crowell continues putting out high-quality work, while displaying as much verve and creativity as ever. He’s being backed on his current tour by The Outsiders (his rowdy road band that also played on his new c.d.) and is adopting an edgier sound. Whether you’re an old-timer who recalls Crowell from the early days or a peach-fuzzed baby face arriving late to the party, you might want to risk hell or high gasoline prices to cross the Dallas County line and catch this rare local appearance by an ageless troubadour.
Fri with special guest Macon Greyson at the Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Av, Dallas. $20-25. 214-824-9933 or toll-free 214-532-3625.
Email this Article...
