Charley Crockett has announced the release of Age Of The Ram, which will come out on April 3rd and marks his third album in a year and his third full-length LP with GRAMMY® Award-winning co-producer Shooter Jennings, as well as being the much-anticipated third and final installment of his epic saga, The Sagebrush Trilogy. Crockett assembled a three-act structure for the story told across Lonesome Drifter, GRAMMY® Award-nominated Dollar A Day, and now Age Of The Ram.
In Act I, he introduced “THE DRIFTER,” Act II saw him become “THE RUSTLER,” and Act III confirms him as “THE OUTLAW.” As the culmination of Charley’s sonic exploration over the course of trilogy, Age Of The Ram promises to deliver an action-packed finale with a sprawling 20 tracks.
Picking up where he left off, Crockett had already introduced various storylines and more than a few colourful characters on the previous albums, but all of those faces finally cross paths and collide on the latest. It all comes to a head on this, dare we say it, concept album, which finds Crockett and Jennings nodding to the likes of Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, and the elder Waylon Jennings. The tunes are intentionally rooted in guitar and pedal steel, yet there’s no shortage of piano, harp, and keys.
As far as what to expect from the story, Crockett explains, “Age Of The Ram is the story of Billy McLane, a small-time cattle rustler who finds himself in the crosshairs of the Santa Fe ring. pursued by bounty killers working for the shadow syndicate, Billy Mclane escapes into the crazy mountains where the outlaw will become a legend.”
The album promises that Crockett sings straight from the soul, telling arresting stories of outsiders, gunmen, fiends, crooks, and femme fatales with a screenwriter’s knack for dialogue and a novelist’s attention to detail. It’s another addition to the collection from country music’s most prolific artist, rooted in the blue-collar work ethic that’s defined his path. Here’s the single from it Kentucky Too Long.
