On TEXAS, out August 15th and the second offering from his own RC1 Records, Rodney Crowell turns his emotional focus to the colorful Lone Star culture and the romance of regional music that formed his musical sensibility during his teen years in Houston, particularly the year 1965 (“My ears were brand new, and I was just transported by sound”), when the 15-year-old left home to join a band.
TEXAS, which he co-produced with Ray Kennedy, seeks to replicate the sound of that era, “before psychedelia, when things were less smooth and guitars were a little crunchy. I have a romantic fascination with the sonics of music of that time.
“On this album, I purposely stayed away from my signature ballads, because I wanted to keep things more external than internal,” the two-time Grammy winner explains. “There’s something resonant about Texas culture and the way it gathers around music as a centerpiece to societal gatherings. When it enjoys itself in a dance hall or honky tonk, it’s particularly outgoing. People consume music with real awareness there. They pay attention to it, but they’re ignoring it at the same time– talking over it, up and dancing, smoking cigarettes, making noise, drinking beer, and clinking bottles. And I felt like that should be the tone of the songs.”
Joining him on this head-spinning trek across Texas is a who’s who of musical compatriots. The most surprising may be ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, whose albums have always featured subtle instrumental winks to the Beatles. But the majority of friends who show up to sing, play, and make merry share Crowell’s Texas roots, including Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Lee Ann Womack, Billy F Gibbons, Ronnie Dunn, and Randy Rogers, along with Oklahoma “neighbor” Vince Gill.
Check out the song on Spotify.
