The anticipated fourth album by Texan Charley Crockett, Lonesome as a Shadow, is another polished set of soulful roots-based music influenced by the music from Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee – Delta blues, gospel, traditional country, soul, honky-tonk, Cajun jazz, Tejano and zydeco. The album of originals was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price) and was recorded live to tape at Sam Phillip’s Recording in Memphis, TN and features Crockett’s touring band The Blue Drifters. The collection of twelve tracks draws from Crockett’s youth hitchhiking and busking across the US, Europe, and Northern Africa, which has parallels with his relative, American folk hero Davy Crockett, who lived a wild life on the American frontier. But it is America and its unique sounds to which Crockett is devoted: “I love this music. It’s the blues and it feels good to sing. A lot of folks are drawn to this sound even if they don’t know why. It’s the American struggle. It’s got the kind of soul that’s hard to find nowadays and all I know is you gotta get a lot of mud on you before you can make folks believe you when you sing these songs.” Standout tracks include: the opening track and first single “I Wanna Cry”; the soulful and warmly toned “Ain’t Gotta Worry Child”; the catchy rocker “Lil’ Girl’s Name”; the title-track; and the honky-tonk/Cajun music mash-up “Goin’ Back to Texas.” Lonesome as a Shadow is a gem – easily one of my favorite releases of the year and if you’re new to Charley Crockett then check out his 2017 release, Lil G.L.’s Honky Tonk Jubilee, which features a collection of his favorite honky-tonk songs by the likes of Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn, Tanya Tucker, Roy Acuff, Webb Pierce and others. – Written by JFelton
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