Rodney Crowell- Airline Highway
Label: New West
Producer: Tyler Bryant
Nearly a half-century into his career and there are undoubtedly very few living legends in 2025 who can lay claim to a catalog with as rich of a cinematic career arc as that of Rodney Crowell’s. The distinctly storied chapters across his discography are equally plentiful and fascinating. From his days as an upstart and underground lyrical genius in the late 70s and early 80s, to his fleeting but dominant run as country music royalty alongside then-wife Rosanne Cash at the end of that decade. He then reemerged as vital as ever as a modern Americana standard-bearer in the Oughts with one of the richest runs of albums of his generation, capped that off with a long-awaited pair of duets albums with creative sister, Emmylou Harris, before unleashing another bewildering streak of superb albums on the backside of those projects. As he unveils this, his twenty-second studio release, he arguably stands second to only Willie Nelson at this point as a towering creative beacon and godfather over all the disparate branches of American roots music. And if Airline Highway is any indication, Crowell–like Nelson–still has plenty left to say.
The potency of Crowell’s pen is as incomparable as ever, still possessing that magical ability to tap into the deepest wells of the human experience, whether it be that of a romantic, rowdy, poetic or comedic variety. Meanwhile, the charismatic purity and strength of his physical voice remains impressively untouched by his now seventy-five years of age; his chirpy yet profound vocals still pop and sparkle from the speakers with the same resonance as they did decades prior. This combination once again allows him to musically paint the kind of palpable and fabled settings, soundscapes, and storylines that are quintessentially his. Per usual, these inspired and entertaining tales are backdropped against Crowell’s ever-rich amalgamation of rock, folk, blues, and country. The new addition of The Shakedown’s Tyler Bryant in both the co-producer’s chair and lead-guitarist position proves to be a natural fit for Crowell’s signature tapestry, but it also invokes the perfectly subtle shade of fresh zeal and modern rock energy. This proves particularly evident on more brooding moments like the deliciously greasy “Some Kind of Woman”, and the rockabilly throwback of “The Twenty-One Song Salute”.
An impressive roster of additional guests and collaborators all dutifully provide their own unique color and influence to the proceedings, from Lukas Nelson’s rollicking support on opening track, “Rainy Days in California”, to Larkin Poe’s appropriately sun-kissed country-rock harmonies on “Louisiana Sunshine Feeling Okay”, to Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr’s atmospheric presence on “Heaven Can You Help”. However, no featured player leaves as great an impact on this record as mainstream country maverick, Ashley McBryde does on the gripping “Taking Flight”, an wrenching Outlaw duet from the perspective of a drifting couple with both romantic and creative entanglements whose union ends in a hefty pile of heartbreak. Crowell and McBryde had united on his previous album, 2023’s The Chicago Sessions, and this further proves the magic that exists when they sing and story-tell together. The devastating distance between the two lovers in this story is so tangibly on the surface during the spoken-word bridge, and to say that it takes achingly beautiful flight when Bryant’s swirling guitar solo comes in, is indeed a pun well-intended, and very much spot-on.
Those folksy moments like that spoken-word interaction on “Taking Flight” is one of those Crowell signatures that traces directly back to the influence of his ultimate hero, Guy Clark, and they show up prominently on other album highlights like “Sometime Thang”, “Simple (You Wouldn’t Call It Simple)”, and the soulful closing number, “Maybe Somewhere Down the Road”. It’s these classic folk-country moments, equally wry and prophetic, that have made up the very best moments of earlier records by both Clark and Crowell. It’s the latter’s continual ability to capture that magic quality that not only extends his own special legacy, but that of the entire lineage of artists that led him to the staggering elder-statesman status that Airline Highway only further cements.
Track Listing:
- “Rainy Days in California” with Lukas Nelson (Rodney Crowell and Lukas Nelson)
- “Louisiana Sunshine Feeling Okay” with Larkin Poe (Crowell)
- “Sometime Thang” (Crowell)
- “Some Kind of Woman” (Crowell)
- “Taking Flight” featuring Ashley McBryde (Crowell, Ashley McBryde)
- “Simple (You Wouldn’t Call It Simple)” (Crowell)
- “The Twenty One Song Salute (Owed to G.G. Shinn and Cleoma Falcon)” (Crowell)
- “Don’t Give Up On Me” (Crowell, Will Jennings)
- “Heave Can You Help” with Charlie Starr (Crowell)
- “Maybe Somewhere Down the Road” (Crowell)
The 706 
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