“The Houston Kid” Rodney Crowell is releasing Close Ties on March 31.
Singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell has been on the map since the 1970s, topping the radio charts with hits like “After All This Time,” “She’s Crazy for Leaving,” and “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried.” Now, he’s releasing a new album after a more than three-year wait. The album, titled Close Ties, explores Crowell’s journey from an unsettled Texas boy to a successful Nashville singer-songwriter.
“A lot of it is very much about these close relationships that I’ve had over the years,” Crowell told Billboard, which recently premiered the record’s duet with Sheryl Crow, “I’m Tied to Ya.” “That just sort of became the narrative, that here I am today, but I’ve had this life that I’ve lived and these people that have passed through and brought great gifts. It’s me pondering all of that.”
Paste.com recently released a music video for the newest single off the album: Appropriately titled “Nashville 1972,” the song tells the story of Crowell’s life in Nashville during the ’70s, including inner-circle times with friends Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, and Steve Earle. The track is beautifully composed around heartfelt lyrics and a soft finger-picked guitar — the perfect closing tune to an emotionally driven soundtrack.
“East Houston Blues” opens the record with a classic Southern rock sensibility and a bluesy undertone, with lyrics that touch on the singer’s troubled upbringing. Though the lyrics tell the story of “being before the judge one to many times,” the tone tells a different story, offering an optimistic head-bobbing beat that promises an enjoyable journey into Crowell’s narrative.
Close Ties will be available on March 31. For more details on Rodney Crowley and his tour, visit his website.