Texan Country singer-songwriter Charley Crockett has been busy forging his own path for the last 25 years. Operating outside of the Nashville hit machine, Crockett has been incredibly prolific and in the past 10 years, he’s really started to gain traction and attention. With 15 studio albums to his name already, and releasing two albums a year the past two years, Crockett is releasing his 16th studio album ‘Age of the Ram’ today. The album is the third and final part of Crockett’s ‘Sagebrush Trilogy’, that began with 2025’s ‘Lonesome Drifter’ and continued with ‘Dollar a Day’ last August. All three albums have been co-produced by Shooter Jennings.
At first glance at the track listing, ‘Age of the Ram’ is a sprawling collection comprising 20 tracks. The album is built around the story of fictional character Billy McLane, who was first mentioned in Marty Robbins’ song ‘Old Red’ back in 1963. The album is punctuated by interludes called ‘Life & Times of Billy McLane’, the first of which opens the album before ‘Lonesome Dove’, the album’s first song proper kicks in. If you’ve ever heard Crockett’s music before, you know what to expect – story-driven songs with traditional melodies and arrangements, complemented by Crockett’s deep drawl.
‘My Last Drink of Wine’ is Crockett at his finest. Recalling the greats like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, Crockett keeps things simple with a bouncy guitar-led melody and a catchy lyric. The punchy ‘Fastest Gun Alive’ is one of the album’s highlights, and it’ll have you tapping your toes along to the beat. Crockett soars on the outlaw Country inspired ‘Crazy Woman Ridge’ and draws from blues influences on the album’s lead single ‘Kentucky Too Long’. In the album’s final stretch, Crockett sounds loose and free on the double-punch of ‘Low Down Freedom’ and the bluegrass embracing ‘Me & Shooter’.
Crockett brings the album to a close with the album’s most unusual song, ‘Cover My Trail Tonight’. The song has a swampier feel than everything else on the record, and it’s actually my favourite track on the record. I could imagine it featuring on the soundtrack of a film set in the deep south, and it would sound incredible booming out of a cinema sound system.
If there was a criticism to be levelled at the album, it would be that it’s simply too long. With waning attention spans from younger music listeners, it’s a big ask to engage over 20 tracks. I’m not a huge fan of interludes so if you remove all of those along with the ‘Theme’ tracks, the album is still a hefty 15 tracks. At times, the album can sound a little too samey so a more carefully curated track list may have benefitted it.
‘Age of the Ram’ will make Crockett’s fans happy and it brings the Sagebrush Trilogy to a satisfying close. If you haven’t heard the other two albums, you’ll still be able to enjoy this one, but to get the full effect you should be familiar with the entire trilogy. Crockett is one of the artists who is flying the flag for traditional Country music and he’s certainly carved out a niche for himself.
Track list: 1. Life & Times of Billy McLane (Theme I) 2. Lonesome Dove 3. Rancho Deluxe (Main Theme) 4. My Last Drink of Wine 5. Fastest Gun Alive 6. Diamond Belle (Country Boy) 7. I Shot Jesse James 8. Life & Times of Billy McLane (Theme II) 9. Crazy Women Ridge 10. Remembering Pat 11. Sweet Mother Texas 12. Kentucky Too Long 13. Border Winds 14. Rancho Deluxe (End Theme) 15. Billy McLane 16. Life & Times of Billy McLane (Theme III) 17. Powder River 18. Low Down Freedom 19. Me & Shooter 20. Cover My Trail Tonight Record label: London Star Rider / Island Records Release date: 3rd April 2026 Buy ‘Age of the Ram’ now
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