Rodney Crowell & The Outsiders, The Alternate Routes January 17, 2006

Rodney Crowell broke through commercially with a string of five number one singles with "It's Such a Small World", "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried," "She's Crazy for Leavin'", "After All This Time," and "Above and Beyond." He's been boldly tinkering with regional styles, since playing in Emmylou Harris' Hot Band and began to write modern classics as unforgettable as "Ain't Living Long like This" and "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight." Crowell's songwriting, in fact, has become a singular thing for singers dead set on songs with a meaty coolness; think of Tim McGraw singing Crowell's "Please Remember Me," or Lee Ann Womack doing his "Ashes by Now," or, to cite a recent multi-week #1 example, Keith Urban balladeering through Crowell's stupendous "Making Memories of Us." Such songs represent Crowell at his most direct and showy; his albums employ that side of his work, plus more. At this point, it's pretty simple: Rodney Crowell is a young legend of American music.