Country music and heartache belong together. Singer / guitarist Rodney Crowell knows how to talk about it. Just look at that face with deep grooves on the front of Close Ties. There is a man who has been through something. Crowell likes to share it with his audience. While writing, he thought back to several loved ones who passed away from him. For friend wrote It Ain't Over Yet that he sings with
… ex-wife and . Life Without Susanna is about Clark's wife, whom he loved dearly. The emotional memories are open and exposed on this record. As it should. Close Ties is an album on which the artist looks back on his missteps with compassion. He tried too hard, wanted to score hits. Now he just wants to be honest. Closing track Nashville 1972 is about his first experiences in the music city of Nashville. Crowell runs into at a party , plays a bad song and throws up in the garden. He has never played that song since. Close Ties proves that Crowell has learned a lot as a writer. (JE)more
