With a career that has spanned five decades, Rodney Crowell is one of the most revered singer songwriters in the country and Americana genres. Alongside over twenty studio albums, numerous collaborations, two Grammys and six Americana Music Association awards, the Texan’s benefactors read like a ‘who’s who’ in country music royalty. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Crystal Gayle, Alan Jackson and Lee Ann Womack, among others. His recording output in the past ten years has impressively yielded no fewer than nine albums with the latest TRIAGE released this month. He is also credited for his commitment to lending a hand to emerging artists, regularly appearing on their albums or in the case of Vincent Neil Emerson, taking on production duties. Lonesome Highway chatted recently with this most engaging and modest man about the new album and a lot more.
Your recording output in recent years is the most prolific of your fifty-year career to date?
Maybe time is compressing itself as I age. I just like the job more than ever and getting my work done.
Given the political and environmental climate at the time of writing, there is little anger in your latest album TRIAGE. Instead, it breathes empathy, love and gentleness.
That was intentional. Certain things do make me angry. I know the countryside when you get outside Dublin and into Wicklow, heading on down south in Ireland. It’s like a beautiful garden. You know, we have such a beautiful green planet. The sun will come out and food will grow. This planet that we live on is such a generous, warm and friendly host yet human kind treats it like a waste basket. That’s what makes me very angry. But anger is not becoming of a man who has empathy. So, I thought in writing all the songs on Triage, I’d followed the notion that some of the best advice you are going to get as a writer and performer is ‘show don’t tell.’ I tried to make the language in the songs display the way I present my ideas and my longings for a better understanding of this world that we live in and how we share this world together. It can’t be preachy. I’m very much a monotheist but very much anti religion, because of the controlling factor. The teachings of the great preachers of any particular religion often get worked by others for personal gain. As a songwriter and performer, I do not want to display any of those attributes. Hopefully I can just share with others my sensibilities, my feelings and my ability to articulate.
Is the album’s title TRIAGE, a reflection of the medical meaning of the word?
When I finally looked up the definition of triage, it refers to prioritising things in a medical situation, particularly in a dire medical situation. That’s how I felt about the songs and that’s how I felt about my place as an artist in as much as the audience that I’m able to reach. How do I prioritise the first things we need to get done? The earth that we share is number one and quickly following that is universal love, which we should all share on our best days. I understand that there are a lot of ‘ifs’ about that very thing. That’s why the title song Triage starts with ‘I think I know what love is.’ Maybe I don’t know what it is for you or my next-door neighbour, but here’s what it is for me and I’ll share that with you. If it fits, good, we are one step closer and if it does not fit, no harm (laughs).
How would a twenty-five-year-old Rodney Crowell feel about the album?
I wrote a song at aged twenty-three called ‘Till I Gain Control Again that might just fit fine on this album. At aged twenty-five, to answer your question, I was already on my way to being the person that I am now. A lot of things happened in my early to late twenties that sent me on a path that I am still very much on today. I would hope that my twenty-five-year-old self would look at TRIAGE and say ‘Hey, you’ve gotten better at writing and making your thoughts more concrete, you’re not flying by the seat of your pants as much as before.’ Honestly, I think I was an inspired young writer who tripped the wire now and again, and sometimes got something really good, but I wasn’t nearly as consistent or dedicated as I am today. As you said earlier, I have been very productive in the past number of years. I think my productivity is just testament to my work ethic. If I’m not on the road performing, you can bet I’m up early working on writing every day.
You are seen as a mentor to many young songwriters trying to establish themselves in a challenging market. You recently produced one such artist Vincent Neil Emerson’s self-titled album. How did that come about?
Vincent was sent to me by an industry man who sensed that I would be able to guide him towards a better expression of his song writing, if that’s fair to say. When I first listened to some of Vincent’s songs I thought ‘ok, he’s done his homework and paid attention, he knows how the Townes Van Zandt’s and Guy Clark’s of the world made their mark.’ I felt I could help him focus and make that record. Being a producer is like being a photographer in a way, figuring out how to put a frame around this young songwriter so that one, such as yourself, will get the full impact of his strengths. Vincent is a poet, his heart is in the right pace, he’s a young man who’s going to be wonderful. He’s going to be a Billy Joe Shaver type of artist for a long time.
You’ve also worked with and aided other local artists such as Andrew Combs and Michaela Anne. Do these artists have the same opportunities as you would have had in your early career?
Good question. Yes and no. When I and Guy (Clark) and Steve (Earle) were coming up there weren’t many older singer songwriters around. I’m old enough to be the likes of Vincent Neil Emerson’s father and can share with him my insight into how to frame himself and get his music out there. Andrew Combs and Michaela, that you mentioned, are good friends of mine. Certainly, in terms of return for their time invested and monetary gain, the internet has stacked the decks against them. Back in the mid to late 70’s, record companies used to invest money to get us out on the road and understood where our audiences might be, but that money’s gone now. I’m hoping for someone like Vincent and others, that their association with me may lead to people that follow me picking up on these artists, which may be helpful. If you don’t have that type of help and you’re coming on the scene now it’s rally daunting.
You’ve a very heavy touring schedule coming up. You obviously still get a buzz out of playing to a live audience. Have you still got the appetite to tour and play live on consecutive nights?
I still get a buzz out of playing for sure, I don’t know if I get a buzz out of the travel. But as we say, we don’t get paid to play, we get paid to travel. Looking back a few weeks ago in Texas, I was taking part in a tribute to Jerry Jeff Walker. We had all been in quarantine for so long and Jimmy Buffett, Steve Earle, Jeff Hanna, Emmylou and myself were down there. We were all going ‘wow, this feels like we’re nineteen years old again’, because we hadn’t been performing for so long. Coming out of the Covid pandemic, things are fresh again and it’s going to take a while to wear that out. I’m looking forward to performing to people again even though I’ not looking forward to the travel part of it. On a tour bus it’s very doable for me, I feel like I’m a turtle in my shell. Once you take to the airways there are so many things that can go wrong.
On a personal basis, tell me what good and bad emerged from quarantine for you?
The death of someone very close to me due to Covid, the passing of John Prine, Hal Willner, Joe Diffie were all low points. That notwithstanding, the isolation was a blessing to me, having no travel for sixteen months. I stayed back in my studio with a little bit of recording gear and recorded about thirty or thirty-five songs where I played all the instruments myself, banged on pots and pans, banged on the windows to get a drum sound and recorded it all. None of which is probably worthy of being released but certainly points the way to what I may do pretty soon.
Interview by Declan Culliton