Charley Crockett might be a worthy candidate for the most interesting man in country music. Not only is the dude wildly talented and entertaining, while he tours constantly and finds the time to make cinematic quality videos, he also keeps up a hare’s pace in the studio. Earlier this year he released the 3rd installment in his “Lil’ G.L.” series paying homage to the past greats by recording ten songs in tribute to legendary Texas troubadour James “Slim” Hand. And even with releasing two records in 2020 as well — including one of 13 new original songs in Welcome to Hard Times — you knew Crockett wasn’t done with releasing new music in 2021.
Music City USA is Charlie Crockett’s 10th album in just six years – and it’s a double one at that…

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…– but with the life the 37-year-old Texan has had, it’s of little surprise that he has no shortage of stories to tell. He battled childhood poverty growing up in Dallas, freestyling on the streets of New Orleans as a teenager before busking in New York. Such a transient existence led him to crime, working harvesting marijuana fields in the northwest before he was subsequently twice convicted of a felony.

The sound throughout the album is a pure old school country delight, with Crockett crooning smoothly with the best of them, often to a liltingly retro beat. Songs like ‘I Need Your Love’ and ‘The World Just Broke My Heart’ could sit proudly alongside any of the great soul-packed country songs from the 50s and 60s.

There are two covers on the record, the first being ‘Muddy Water’ – a song written by Joe Babcock and originally recorded by Stonewall Jackson in 1965, featuring lines that fit perfectly with Crockett’s past (“We robbed a man in Tennessee / The sheriff caught me way up in Nashville / They locked me up and threw away the key”) – and second being ‘Skip A Rope’ – this time written by Jack Moran and Glenn Douglas Tubb and recorded by Henson Cargill. It’s easy to see why Crockett chose to include the latter as the final album track because although the song was originally released in 1967, the themes are still depressingly timely, dealing with the ills of society – including racism and abuse – and asking why parents pass such things onto the next generation.

It would certainly be nice to think that life will be less of struggle for Crockett in the time ahead than it has in the past, but still, let’s hope the next six years continue to see him being just as prolific as the last, even if the future rightly sees him having to draw on great success rather than adversity.

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