Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rodney Crowell is the songwriter's songwriter, a craftsman whose peer renown only occasionally translates into wider success - most notably on his 1988 Columbia debut Diamonds and Dirt, which spawned five country chart-toppers and garnered an armful of Grammies. Fate's Right Hand finds him back with Columbia, though Crowell had to take out a bank loan to record the album before they got involved, which speaks volumes about the state of the industry even in the gilt-edged country market. And it's a great album, with the fiftysomething Crowell musing intelligently on time past and time passing.
Song after song finds a string of luckless, ageing losers weighing principles against penury, and usually concluding that keeping one's integrity intact is worth whatever it costs. Crowell's frame of reference is somewhat wider than your average Nashville hick's, with references here to Rilke, Heaney, Ringo, Jesus and the Dalai Lama, the latter's influence reflected in the Buddhist attitude of "Time to Go Inward". "My mind is like a chatterbox whose noise pollutes the pathways to my soul," reflects Crowell, but the rest of us can only hope it keeps chattering away with songs as good as these.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments