Rodney Crowell

I like the new one, it caused me to break out "The Houston Kid". I like that one as well. It caused me to break out "Sex and Gasoline". It's OK but then I stopped listening to Rodney and moved on to his ex-wife. 

Slaw, I assume you were addressing me. With a streaming service you can listen to an album before you buy it, avoiding the disappointment you felt in this case. Also, you can explore many albums you would never buy without hearing them first and decide that some of them are really good, good enough to buy. It also allows you to hear albums that you might want to listen to a few times but not buy. Streaming is a nice way to find the music you really want in your collection, to avoid buying albums you don’t want in your collection and to explore new music.

I gave this lp another listen. I admit it sounds better this time (I did just install a Synergistic Blue fuse in my phono-preamplifier however), I still have an issue with Rodney’s voice. I think the mixers, for what ever reason, have controlled his vocals so they sound, to me, like their somewhat muffled.

(I just don’t like "Ain’t Living Long Like This" as an acoustic song.)

The more I think about it, I wonder if this is Rodney's attempt at his one lp version of  "American Recordings"?

slaw, as with Dylan, the album may be a place holder until Crowell gets over a case of writer’s block. Songwriters have it rough when the muse disappears.