| Rodney Crowell...The Houston Kid Sugar Hill Records...**** Well, I guess I�m going to have to join the growing legion of reviewers who have given Rodney Crowell�s new album �The Houston Kid� such grand accolades. It�s well deserving of the praise, and I think it�s probably the best thing he�s ever done, including the 1988 album �Diamonds And Dirt�, which relinquished 5 #1 singles, and won him a grammy for �After All This Time� in 1989. Rodney Crowell was born in Houston, Texas on August 7, 1950. �The Houston Kid� contains references to his growing up there, and contains many true to life memories, etched with touching passion and short-hair stirring songwriting talent. Not all of the album is strictly autobiographical though, a couple of references to doing jail-time, and a few other fictional items are weaved into the mix that originate from friends and neighbors whom Crowell observed around him during his life. The album as a whole though, still represents a lot of Crowell�s true experiences growing up, including a disturbing portrayal of his abusive father. Crowell started out in music at the early age of 11 playing drums in his dad�s honky-tonk band so his father could get a bigger cut of the door. Later he was in a highschool band called The Arbitrators, and from there he set his sights on Nashville. After he first arrived in Music City Crowell washed dishes for a while, but one day he took off his apron in the middle of his shift and told his boss that he was either going to play music or starve. After that proclamation, Crowell lived in a car with one of his friends for awhile, but in 1972 While playing a lounge act, he was noticed by Jerry Reed, and soon was on his way. He eventually made friends with Progressive Texas Singer-songwriters like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt and continued to fine-tone his considerable song writing talents. From 1975 - 1977 Crowell played in Emmylou Harris� Hot Band where he worked as Guitarist, Songwriter and Arranger. Crowell worked on his first album �I Ain�t Livin� Long Like This� in 1977, and also assembled his legendary road band �The Cherry Bombs� at this time which included a young Vince Gill, future producers Richard Bennett and Emory Gordy Jr. and future record executive Tony Brown. The album only sold moderately, but three of it�s songs were covered by other artists: Waylon Jennings did �I Ain�t Livin� Long Like This, The Oak Ridge Boys did �Leavin� Louisiana In The Broad Daylight� and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did � Viole� An American Dream�. During the 80;s Crowell was recognized as one of the leaders of �the new traditionalist movement�. Bob Segar covered his song �Shame On The Moon� and it reached #2 on the pop charts in 1983. Crowell also successfully produced a lot of other artist�s albums, including one for Rosanne Cash, whom he was married to from1979-1992. After that Crowell enjoyed only modest success until he went through the roof with 1988�s �Diamonds And Dirt�, which I�ve already mentioned. Since the dawn of the nineties, Crowell hasn�t matched his earlier success and lackadaisical record sales had put a bit of a slump into his career, but now with the new album �The Houston Kid� all of that should be in the past, and Rodney Crowell should be seeing an upswing in his popularity once more. The critics are raving about �The Houston Kid� and a new cover of one of his older songs �I Should Be Ashes By Now� is getting serious air time all over country radio. The first song on �The Houston Kid� is �Telephone Road� and it�s a visual, quick-change slide show about growing up in Houston, and it contains some of the best lyrics to come along in quite some time. Magnolia garden bandstand on the very front row Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and the Killer puttin� on a show Six years old and just barely off my daddie�s knee When those rockabilly rebels sent the devil runnin� right through me Then on the next cut we get �Rock Of My Soul�, a song about his father who is painted in not very kindly terms. Sweeping out confetti from a third grade classroom The rock of my soul pushed a dust-mop broom The rock of my soul didn�t have much luck He came to town grinnin� on a flat-bed truck and later we get to hear: I�m a first hand witness to an age old crime A man who hits a woman isn�t worth a dime 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years old That�s what I remember �bout the rock of my soul I told him I would kill him if he did not stop it But the rock of my soul just would not drop it I learned to lie like dirt I could steal your shirt and talk with a gun Another Houston kid on a downhill skid like father, like son The next song �Why Don�t We Talk About It� has a Beatlesque pop feel to it. It�s about mistakes made and lessons learned and it really stuck in my skull after I�d listened to it. It�s a song that I�ll got back to again and again. The next couple of songs on the album �I Wish It Would Rain� and �Wandering Boy� kind of play out on the same bleak canvas. These songs were both inspired by the twin sons of friends of Rodney�s parents. Both contain dark references to such topics as drugs, drinking, and the aids virus. �I Wish It Would Rain� is about one of the twins hustling on the streets and ending up dazed by drugs and alcohol, finally contacting the aids virus. Then, at this lowly state, he seeks redemption. The �Wandering Boy�, speaks from the viewpoint of the other twin brother, who once filled with hatred towards those who lived his brothers gay lifestyle, in the end, allows his dying brother to come home to die, in comfort. I used to cast my judgments like a net All those California gay boys deserve just what they get Little did I know there would come a day When my words would come back screaming like a debt I have to pay These two songs tell a hard truth, that represents humanity, love and forgiveness. The next song �I Walk The Line (Revisited)� Is a rewrite of the Johnny Cash classic, and I was amazed to find out that the man in black himself allowed Crowell to alter the song (though with initial reservations), and even contributed guest vocals on the cut. I don�t like messing with a great, classic song like �I Walk The Line�, but I have to admit, I enjoyed Crowell�s version, and though it could never stand up to the original, it�s got it�s enjoyable qualities. �Highway 17�, the next cut, doesn�t really fit in with the rest of the songs on the album, but it�s still a decent listen. It�s pretty much your basic criminals and robbery ballad with a twist at the end. Next up is �You Don�t Know How Much I Hate You�. It�s about a guy who�s ex was beautiful and perfect and nice to all of his friends, and never did a single thing wrong. But now that she�s splitsville, he�s hurt, his life�s messed up and the memories of her love are so painful that he exclaims �you don�t know how much I hate you, but then almost as an afterthought, admits �I wish it were true�. �Banks Of The Old Bandera� is another growing up song about memories of a better time, a time now faded and gone. �Topsy Turvy� comes next, and it�s one of the high-points of �The Houston Kid�. Its a roller-coaster emotional ride describing the ups and downs of a dysfunctional family going through hell. With it�s chaotic keyboards, reverse guitar, and Charlie McCoy�s brilliant harmonica work, this song really works well, giving the listener an inside feel for what it�s like growing up with pain and strife all around. �I Know Love Is All I Need� is the final song on �The Houston Kid�, and although many of the albums stories contain fun and happy memories, it�s like a psychological purging for all the painful family recollections and childhood darkness that has come before. It starts out with: So I�m an orphan now out here on my own It�s hard to know where I belong It comes as no surprise, it happens to us all Just like the sun will rise, night will fall This song is about coming out the other end, finally being set free and standing there looking at the whole world ahead, fresh and invigorated. After being raised in a family where a lot of pain lived, The singer hopes for better things and yearns to give a better life to his own family than the one he experienced growing up: I know love is all I need That�s all I know I can see it in my children I can feel it with my wife And I know it with these friends I have So important in my life I had a dream last night I saw my mom and dad They were happy now and I was glad They had this brand new house That they�d just moved in And when I awoke they were gone again I know love is all I need That�s all I know With �The Houston Kid� Rodney Crowell has reached a pinnacle in his career as a songwriter of outstanding proportions. He has come to terms with his troubled upbringing, dealt with his past fears and accepted his status in the music world. No longer striving for the big labels, no longer trying to fit a nitch or compromise his artistry, Crowell has become the musician he has always longed to be and �The Houston Kid� proves it. Chelle Rose...Nana Hally River Bloodred Records...*** Rachelle Rhea Rose, from Knoxville, Tennessee was an only child whose Dad left her when she was two years old, and whose Mother left her when she was three. This album contains songs about love, life and family. These tales are not restricted to the type songs one would normally expect in the genre of country/folk music. This music denotes above average songwriting with fresh, surprising insights. This album is a mixed tea-bag of new Americana steeped in traditional country-and it goes down smooth and satisfies. The music carries a truth within it like a pair of old, worn shoes that have walked many a mile and seen many a sight. Chelle Rose possess� a pure, clear voice that is evocative of many a great vocalist, yet not easily compared to anyone in particular. .The first song on the album, �Daddy, I�m Still Here� is written about the father who left her at such a young age. Chelle told me during a telephone interview that when her CD was released, she mailed a copy of it to her dad, and he never bothered to reply in any form whatsoever. He Still lives in the same town she does, and has never bothered to try and contact her in many years. This song tugs at the heart, but knowing the true story behind it makes it even more heart-rending. The title song �Nana Hally River� starts off with a short recorded interview that was made of her great grand mother, Hattie Carolyn being interviewed about how she met her true love, Irven Easton. It�s amazing that this artifact is still in existence after so many years, and when the interview leads into the song itself, it works wonderfully. We then hear the rest of the story about her great grandmother�s courting by Irven Easton from Chelle herself, the great grand daughter. Throughout the 14 cuts on this album we are given a peek inside Chelle Rose�s world and introduced to a wide variety of characters and situations that make the songs come to life, and give the listener a good idea of what went on in these people�s common lives as they work, love, cry and laugh. It�s a heady trip into emotional recollections and present day observations. Check it out www.chellerose.com for more information. |