Search - Rodney Crowell :: Outsider

An ear for hooks and a sharp tongue for the times

Glen Engel Cox | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 01/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first six songs of this album are as hook-laden and catchy as anything by today's teen queens, but that's where the comparison ends, because Rodney Crowell's lyrics are unusual and his voice has a frequently noticeable twang that, unlike many of today's country stars, is unaffected and natural. Since country has increasingly become pop, you would think that this album would have been enthusiastically embraced by country radio, but this is the third of a series of Crowell albums in which he delves into subjects and areas that reflect his personal beliefs, so while the music may be in tune with Big & Rich, the lyrics are as far from Toby Keith as you can get.



I first discovered Crowell with his breakup (from Rosanne Cash) album, Life is Messy, and enjoyed it because it used the tropes of country music (steel guitar, a singer with a drawl, distinct lyrics that seem as if they are spoken directly to you) but didn't pander. Like Lyle Lovett and Dwight Yoakam, Crowell was unusual and the very fact that he didn't fit within mainstream country made his songs much more interesting to me. That album marked his first departure from Nashville, where he had made a name for himself as a songwriter and producer. I have no idea if this was an intentional break, or if it just grew organically from life events, but no matter, it was the stuff of good albums. I picked up his greatest hits collection, which was okay, but much too like the others songs of its era, and not as unusual as Life is Messy.



I had forgotten about Crowell until recently when I heard a new song of his on a local indepenent radio station and realized that he was back, and back with the kind of songs that I was looking for. Appropriately enough, the song was "The Outsider," from the album of the same name. The music on this song has a soul feel, slightly funky, with a horn section in the middle. Crowell's lyrics are clever, a repetition of what you can or can't be, culminating in the chorus that celebrates those who would hang out on the fringes. What better song to encapsulate what I had found interesting about Crowell originally? And yet the song also is a paeon to those who speak out with minority opinions, mirroring the dissent of those against the current goverment administration and media conglomerates. From that song alone, I knew I needed this album.



The first song, "Say You Love Me," is probably the most country-pop of the album, a bouncy ditty that is infectious, with a multi-voiced chorus yelling "Say" that sounds like everyone is having lots of fun. The lyrics aren't sublime, but they don't need to be, because this is a love song that is an anti-ballad: rather than crooning up at her balcony, Crowell is dancing up to his partner and inviting her to join him. Track 2 is the most unusual song of the album, "The Obscenity Prayer," a prayer from the standpoint of the most vain, self-absorbed American imaginable (i.e., a Young Republican). The chorus is a call and response of "give it to me" followed by "give it, give it, give it, give it." The best line is "the Dixie Chicks can kiss my ass/but I still need that backstage pass," capturing perfectly the inconsistency of those who were offended by the Dixie Chicks criticism of the government at the same time that the Dixie Chicks had the number one album in the land.



Other songs continue this mixture of political commentary and bright, breezy melodies. "Dancin' Circles Round the Sun (Epictetus Speaks)," is another fast moving song whose lyrics are positive encouragment to keep on keepin' on by explaining that we're all circlin' the sun together. The first time I heard "Beautiful Despair" I wasn't sure I cared for, but on repeated listens it has gotten its hooks into me. It's in a minor key and isn't nearly as fast as the previous six songs, signaling a shift in the albums mood, and has a break in the middle where Crowell's voice is joined by a female voice in an a cappella repetition of the title. "Don't Get Me Started" returns to the political theme of the album, but is solidly from the personal viewpoint of Crowell, wherein he alternates between itemizing the problems that he sees and warns that this listing is nothing--you really don't want him to get going with his full opinion of what's going on. I probably dislike "Ignorance is the Enemy" the most--unlike the other songs, its political opinions are done in a series of guest-voice spoken word lectures and comes across as more pedantic than personal, even for someone like myself who agrees with the sentiments. The sung sections are beautiful, though, in their gospel-like harmony.



"Glasgow Girl" is unusual in its celebration of Scotland--in fact, I'd love if this started a trend of country music about countries outside the U.S. It's a simple story song of a Texan who is searching for the girl that he met once and wants to find again, but the music is sweet and the affection seems genuine. "Things That Go Bump in the Day" channels John Hiatt in both its dirty electric guitar over smooth rhythm section and lyrics that work off a central play on words. The only cover song, and true duet (with Emmylou Harris), on the album is "Shelter From the Storm," which I like much more than Bob Dylan's original, if only because Crowell and Harris have voices that aren't nearly as nasal or annoying. In fact, without the distraction of Dylan's delivery, I was finally able to hear and understand the lyrics and enjoy them. The final song is "We Can't Turn Back," which is somewhat like "The Outsider" in its lyrical structure, but instead of focusing on those on the outside, it encourages those within to hold to their principles and not let actions modify what they believe or stand for. It's a nice way to end an album that is alternatively strident and sweet, a melange of wit and wisdom that is worthwhile on the basis of the fact that Crowell undercuts his preachiness by constantly reminding you that this is just him talking. That personal touch gives each song, and the album, a center to which the opinions can be heard, and an alternative to the shouting heads of TV news talk who never qualify their statements. Perhaps if Bill O'Reilly could hold a tune, he'd sound more reasonable, but somehow I doubt it."

A Modern Day Profit

Faithless Street | Austin | 01/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If Rodney Crowell did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. Time

and again he has infused country music with a jolt of creativity that shakes

it up and creates something new. Now he has taken his innovative spirit and

applied it to alt-country and punk-a-billy, fusing them and pushing them

both through the past and the future. Drawing influence from everyone from

The Beatles and The Cowsills, to earlier versions of himself to Bob Wills to

BR-459, to The Ramones he pushes past the sounds we are used to hearing on

alt-country radio and creates a bouncy, swingy punk-country all his own.

The Outsider is a comfortable and refreshing soundtrack to the new musical,

spiritual and political revolutions.

The album opens with "Say You Love Me," a fun and saucy look at unrequited

love that captures the tempo if not the essence of the album. This is

followed by a seething rant against contemporary apathy and consumerism,

"Obscenity Prayer" which finds Crowell wearing the skin of today's

contemporary mainstream public figures as he snarls "you expect me to show

some compassion/man, that's so out of fashion." Next comes "the Outsider, "

an almost 60's styled anthem encouraging the listener to embrace the

other-ness in themselves and others because "we don't have to find a

permanent bliss/but we gotta do better than this." This segues to the

freewheeling and joyous "Dancing Circles Round the Sun." "Beautiful despair

is hearing Dylan when you're drunk at 3 am/Knowing that no matter what

you'll never write like him," Crowell explains as he sinks into the lush

melody of "Beautiful Despair." "Don't Get Me Started" replays the sort of

cuff rant started by a casual remark in a bar, which allows Crowell to open

with "I was born in America/and I'm proud of that fact/I wish the rest of

the world would get off our backs" before pointing out the miseries being

visited on American by Americans and closing the problems of East Timor

where he points out "when the coalition army doesn't come to your aid/you

might as well face it there's no money to be made." "Ignorance Is the

Enemy" is a simple, elegant hymn for understanding, featuring striking

spoken verses from Emmylou Harris and John Prine. "Glasgow Girl " is a

sumptuous travel log which brings to mind the new romanticism of the early

80's and possibly marks Crowell as the first country artist to work The

Firth of Fourth into a lyric. "Things That Go Bump In The Day" is fun and

bouncy ballad of looking back with regret. One of the highlights, on an

album that seems to contain little else, is the powerful duet rendering of

Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm" with Emmylou Harris. Crowell brings the

album to a close with the Stanley-meets-Parson's tune, "We Can't Turn Back

Now," and uplifting, poetic song about clinging to truth and fighting for

it.

The Outsider is the latest dark and lovely work by country music's poet

laureate Rodney Crowell. A staunchly liberal and humanist work, this album

examines what it means to be both of those things in a country that

appreciates neither. He sears his way through a nation of apathy with an

album that reminds us all that true art comes from the sharpest edges of

feeling, be it Miles Davis, Nostradamus, Jethro Tull or Rodney Crowell.

Ultimately, timely and timeless, Crowell marks himself as one of the true

chroniclers of the modern era.



"

A songwriter's songwriter.

Don Lee | Leucadia, CA United States | 06/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you have never seen this man perform live you are missing one of the greatest living performers of Americana music. Everyone leaves the show smiling. He utilizes the absolute best musicians and exudes charm and goodwill. The Outsider, third of the trilogy, combines a bit more politics than usual and was out prior to some of the same sentiments expressed by Bruce, Neil, and others. This album may take a little longer to grow on you but it will be music you will keep playing for a long time ( as is typical of most Rodney Crowell albums). Rodney is always breaking new ground in his writing and The Outsider is just the latest chapter, don't expect the same the next time!"