Rodney Crowell should have spent his career as a professional country songwriter. He does it so well and on this very attractive and smart and personal record, all these songs could teach those Bro Brothers a thing or two. Nearly any of them could use “Fever On The Bayou” and “Frankie Please” on their albums, liven up the live shows as well with energy and spunk and some of that Jamey Johnson like piano.
Crowell has been around for decades (he is a 62 years old now) and he has had his ups and downs, I can take him or leave him on record, even his big breakthrough 1988’s Diamonds And Dirt didn’t do it for me. Last years Emmylou Harris duet album Old Yellow Moon, left me cold.
But Tarpaper Sky didn’t. When you can get past the ballads, lachrymose stuff like “God I’m Missing You” and “Famous Last Words Of A Fool” and if you can forgive him the clumsy albeit heartfelt “Forever Young” steal on a tribute to his pal Guy Clark “The Flyboy And The Kid”, there are a handful of standout tracks. While it doesn’t fit together as a theme or even as a presentiment of country, it does as a collection of strong songs from the same pen; a vision of a sound that will always have an audience.
Recorded with the guys who played on Diamond And Dust, this is sweet natured, deep feeling country the way it should be made. Well played, with folks like Vince Gill lending their voice, it is just one fine song after another and a worthy reminder of what a great country album should sound like.
Grade: B+
