Categories : Country + Western, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 3/5 Released: August 16, 2005 Reviewer: Connor Turner |
Rodney Crowell is an impeccable lyrist and an excellent songwriter. The man has made believers out of Bruce Springsteen & Steve Earle. He has also penned numerous hits for the likes of Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban and the Grateful Dead. It is this history, which makes Outsider feel like a whiskey filled night, picking the mind of a grizzled musical journeyman. In Crowell’s eleventh studio release we are given a glorious opportunity to see elements of this unglamorous lifestyle – through the eyes of a man who has seen it all.
The Outsider is an enjoyable country rock album, packed with insightful storytelling. From a lost Yank in Scotland in Glasgow Girl to the retrospective Ignorance is the Enemy, Crowell appears to be unleashing with opinion and insight. While the outsider might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there is a level of respect and craftsmanship that oozes out of every lyric. Fans of heartfelt observers like the Boss, John Cougar Mellencamp, Emmylou Harris and even Ryan Adams will definitely appreciate this album.
