Texas native Rodney Crowell can easily be credited with spurring
on the alternative country scene which started to manifest in the
early to mid 80’s. He’s a man who wears many hats: singer,
songwriter and producer. And wherever he lays his musical hand,
eloquence and immense creative genius is the result.
So it’s no surprise that his 1992 album,
Life Is Messy, is an impeccable disc of mesmerizing and
finely crafted pop country nuggets. With a voice that, at times,
contains hints of Roy Orbison, Crowell invokes a passion and depths
of feeling that is absent in a lot of other sounds that have poured
forth from the country/western spigot.
Crowell has a magnetism for stellar guest vocalists and
musicians: Marc Cohn, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Steve Winwood,
Shawn Colvin, and Sam Phillips grace this disc and do a marvelous
job of blending their distinctive styles with Crowell’s vision. No
doubt they considered it an honor to add vocals to such richly
penned tunes. Jeff Porcaro, Booker T. Jones and Alex Acuna are
guests among the highly talented instrumentalists.
Crowell is a deft lyricist. He is able to convey universal
emotions with crafty lyrical juxtapositions. In the title track
“Life Is Messy,” he sings: “Life is messy/I feel like Elvis
Presley/At a very early age/They put you in a cage and they push
you out on stage”. Yep, life is messy indeed.
There are timeless tunes like “What Kind Of Love” and “It Don’t
Get Better Than This”, songs that belong in a corner jukebox in a
dusty roadside bar. In fact, the entire album is full of songs that
would have a barfly weeping in his beer or chuckling in
commiseration.
The album opens up with a quick tempo number called “It’s Not
For Me To Judge”. This is a song with a message while lacking any
modicum of preachiness. “It’s not for me to judge the rhyme or the
reason/If it’s something I don’t understand/It’s not for me to
judge what someone else does/There’s a reason why so many people
cry”.
After revealing his stance on judging others, Crowell delves
inside and delivers some personal songs. “I Hardly Know How To Be
Myself Anymore” is a poignant ballad about holding the pain inside
after a break up. (This song was co-written by his ex-wife Rosanne
Cash). “I think about my life and what it’s headed for/I hardly
know how to be myself anymore/I know how to chase the night
away/show no feelings by the light of day”.
The hypnotic and dreamy “Alone But Not Alone” is perhaps the
most beautiful track on the album. Crowell wraps the chorus in an
amazing falsetto reminiscent of Roy Orbison. The arrangement is as
subtle as a heartbeat.
This is a jewel of an album that comfortably straddles the
country-western and rockabilly camps. I’m compelled not to
categorize it at all. It’s just simply eloquent music.
This album has been out of print for some time and, fortunately,
someone has gotten wise at Sony. The reissue will be in stores on
September 19, 2000. I encourage you to pick up this classic. No
matter what type of music you like, it’ll strike a chord.
