European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse By Carl Hoover Cox news service Riding the fide of Success Rodney Crowell ties Gustaw was a Quot a or n so v k is i 1 Ighel g in i a country sirl9f Urband career t119 <,w�?T1 c out by singe it r of i v y c r o w e 11, Vav h 0. Wrote songs for some of Nashville a finest be Orchis own breakthrough came. Says the secret to his writing and performing is re Shoss a a to writing that translates into keeping his senses Fine tuned to the details and nuances of life and people in per forming that Means slinking up his a concert playlist enough to Jerk himself out of a Groove a and keep his band members on their Loes 111 avoid routine at All costs routine is not Good for me Quot Crowell says. A a a so when the Road gels a bit numbing he takes walks in the cities he plays. ,. Or As he did recently he lakes his wife Rosanne Cash and their daughters with him. A Quot this was the first line they did it extensively and travelling Wilh an 0 year old a 10 year old and an 8 month old baby a it adds something unexpected to the tour Quot he joked. It s not often a tour bus i country performers stops to take in a water slide or a go Catl track but then that s life outside the routine. A since the Success of diamonds is dirt two years ago Crowell has been a Busy Man juggling the demands of a rigorous touring schedule songwriting and recording responsibilities and family duties Quot it s been a big lesson learning How to ride the. Tide of Success and at the same time be present emotionally. For my family Quot he said. Crowell jumped into prominence with a grammy award for Best country song for after Alt this time Gold certification Lor the diamonds its dirt a album and five consecutive no 1 billboard hits. But behind that High profile stretches a lengthy Low profile career As a proven Nashville songwriter raised in Houston Crowell joined his father s band at the age of. 11. He moved to Nashville in 1972 and Laler joined emmy i on Harris hot band he left in 1977 to pursue a Solo career and produced Rosanne Cash s smash seven year ache a. A Crowell soon made a reputation in Nashville As a talented songwriter his times Lound their Way on records by Emmylou Harris Jerry Jeff Walker the grateful dead. Way ton Jennings. Jimmy Buffett. Willie Nelson his wife and his father in Law Johnny Cash. A Fie determined to become a performer in his own right but it took on the Warner Brothers Label and one or Columbia before he Tut pay dirt with 1988 s diamonds amp dirt Crowells latest album keys to the i Highway already has had one no 1 song. Many a l Ong and lonesome Highway with if looks oui kill out As the second single. A new album is in the works once the present. Round of touring ends Crowell eagerly anticipates the work ahead he enjoyable ask of seeing a where his lyrics Lake him a Quot it s a process of discovery sort of like an. Excavation m a Way Quot he explains Quot it s like a anthropology where you Start on a dig and see what you come up the Earth he digs is human experience adding that country music is tailor made for the sparse but Laden lyrics he pens Quot the leather in country music s hat is that it s drawn from the language and the Story of simple people Quot he explained. A the trick is capturing a moment or an emotion in the Brief passage of a song. H comes As no Surprise when Crowell compares songwriting to the discipline of Short stones or human scaled film two decades of song Nimg Haven t altered his subjects or sources they be Only made his writing leaner and More efficient a the same time Crowell likes the. Immediate feedback that performance gives and if his audience allows him latitude in different styles of a say a Ranee Horn i tank Williams to the Maple Bingen Crowell a in entertainer s he am Quot when t get a Field of an audience that will a a i me Experiment boy in a carry turns me on wednesday August 8, 1990 the stars and stf1ipes a Page 17
