Rodney Crowell

Take a look at the cover of Rodney Crowell's brilliant new album, The Chicago Sessions, and you might recognize a familiar callback to the legendary songwriter's 1978 debut. "In a lot of ways, this album feels like that very first record to me," Crowell reflects. "When my daughter Chelsea suggested we lay the artwork out similarly, the connection made perfect sense. There's something very simple, very innocent about it. It's just me and the band in a room together, loose and live and having fun." Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, The Chicago Sessions is indeed a throwback to Crowell's early days of making records, but it's no nostalgia trip. The songs here are vital and timely, touching on everything from love and mortality to race and religion, and the performances are nothing short of intoxicating, fueled by raw guitars, honky-tonk piano, and tight, punchy drums. Tweedy wields a light touch as a producer, his influence subtle yet unmistakable, and engineer Tom Schick's mixes are dynamic and alive, alternately lush and spacious in all the right places with a spotlight fixed firmly on Crowell's warm, weathered vocals throughout. Put it all together and you've got a masterful, cross-generational collaboration that manages to feel both fresh and familiar all at once, an incisive, engaging collection that balances careful craftsmanship with joyful liberation at every turn.

My childhood memories of Christmas aren't warm and fuzzy. The holidays were more of a nuisance for my parents than cause for celebration. This is not to say that on behalf of their only child they didn't give the season a halfhearted try. There were Christmases when I found under the tree an electric football set, a Daisy pump air-rifle and a basketball goal that never got nailed up.

For the past 41 years, Rodney Crowell’s holiday traditions have included reading Clement C. Moore’s iconic 19th century poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (or “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”), to his children and grandchildren on Christmas Eve. This year the singer-songwriter adds a soundtrack to that tradition in the form of his first-ever holiday-themed LP, Christmas Everywhere, out November 2nd on New West Records.

Crowell tries to stretch out a bit too much on Jewel of the South, but it remains a fine album, nonetheless. Featuring guest performances by the Mavericks' Raul Malo, Bela Fleck, Vince Gill, Kim Richey, and Billy Joe Walker Jr. among others, the album tries to do too many thing, but it does enough of them well enough to make it an entertaining listen.

Grammy-Award winner Rodney Crowell’s new Lone Star-themed album, TEXAS, is set for release on August 15, and includes a star-studded list of featured artists.