CHARLEY CROCKETT : AGE OF THE RAM

CHARLEY CROCKETT : AGE OF THE RAM

Life & Times Of Billy McLane (Theme I)
Lonesome Dove
Rancho Deluxe (Main Theme)
My Last Drink Of Wine
Fastest Gun Alive
Diamond Belle (Country Boy)
I Shot Jesse James
Life & Times Of Billy McLane (Theme II)
Crazy Woman Ridge
Remembering Pat
Sweet Mother Texas
Kentucky Too Long
Border Winds
Rancho Deluxe (End Theme)
Billy McLane
Life & Times Of Billy McLane (Theme III)
Powder River
Low Down Freedom
Me & Shooter
Cover My Trail Tonight

Label : Island Records

Release Date : April 3, 2026

Length : 45:20

Review (Pitchfork) : Age of the Ram, the third album Charley Crockett has released in just over a year, comes into focus with the sound of a film projector whirring to life, its soft hum accompanying the Texan troubadour as he croons about the life and times of the outlaw Billy McLane. It’s a double framing device, establishing that Crockett will spend the album following the character, while also placing the music firmly within the tradition of the tall tales of the American West, stories that are handed down through song, dime store novels, and B-movies. Age of the Ram is the concluding chapter in Crockett’s “Sagebrush Trilogy,” and its inspiration is a bit more highfalutin than pulp. The singer-songwriter claims the idea came from somebody at Island Records, his current major-label home after a first act filled with indies. Why not make a series of records, this person suggested, modeled after Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy, the beloved writer’s set of novels about young cowboys in the American Southwest? The idea came to Crockett after he already made Lonesome Drifter, his first collaboration with producer Shooter Jennings, so he constructed its companions around two distinct archetypes: Dollar A Day is about a rustler and hustler, while Age of the Ram concerns itself with a loner who lives just outside the law. Crockett takes no pains to disguise that this is a recognizable trope, singing a ballad about shooting Jesse James and boasting about being the “Fastest Gun Alive.” He also laces the album with repetitions of his “Life & Times of Billy McLane” theme, evoking the way “Time of the Preacher” circles through Willie Nelson’s 1975 outlaw country landmark Red Headed Stranger. Crockett is too gregarious to replicate Willie’s austere desert balladry, though. He’ll warble an acoustic interlude on occasion, letting these quiet moments punctuate the rangy ramble of his roadhouse band. In emphasizing feel and groove over story, though, Crockett inadvertently reveals his cards. He’s too restless to concentrate on an extended narrative, preferring to create a collage where the familiar gets enlivened by his idiosyncrasies. Take the other recurring motif that runs throughout Age of the Ram: Jimmy Buffett’s theme song to Rancho Deluxe, a country comedy from 1975 starring Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston that isn’t particularly well-known outside of Parrotheads. Here, its sunburnt charms feel as natural as the country-funk of “Kentucky Too Long,” the revved-up saloon song “My Last Drink of Wine,” the hardcore honky tonk of “Fastest Gun Alive,” or the laid-back travelogue of “Lonesome Dove.” “Lonesome Dove” nods to Larry McMurtry’s epic Western novel of the same name, immortalized in a mini-series starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. But the more telling tip of the hat is a couple of covers of songs associated with Waylon Jennings, the father of the album’s producer. Crockett digs up Eddy Raven’s “Sweet Mother Texas” from one of Waylon’s forgotten ’80s records, then revives “Low Down Freedom,” a Billy Joe Shaver song Jennings put on Honky Tonk Heroes, another definitive outlaw country text. By summoning both Willie and Waylon on Age of the Ram, Crockett casually infers that he's their heir, tipping his hat to tradition instead of grabbing the outlaw crown. Such knowledge isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying Age of the Ram. Crockett is too much of a showman to demand that his audience be conversant with history, so he relies on melodies and rhythms that are bound to please. He’s loose enough to indulge in a bit of self-mythologizing with “Me & Shooter” toward the album’s close, a riotous tribute to the chemistry between the singer and his producer. It’s paired with “Cover My Trail Tonight,” a lazy epilogue that ends Age of the Ram and the Sagebrush Trilogy on a note of forward motion. As he croons around a dying campfire, he’s leaving this story for another adventure, asking the border wind to blow away any trace that he was ever here. Whether he’s a wanderer, rustler, or an outlaw, one thing is certain for Crockett: The road goes on forever.

Review (NME) : When Charley Crockett announced plans to release ‘The Sagebrush Trilogy’ – a series of concept albums, all to be released within just 12 months – some were quick to cast doubt on the ambitious feat. Fast forward a year, and if he hasn’t already proved them wrong with widely acclaimed ‘Lonesome Drifter’ and Grammy-nominated ‘Dollar A Day’, the third and final instalment, ‘Age Of The Ram’, is here to shut down naysayers once and for all. Structured as three intertwining acts, each album tells the tale of the fictional Billy McLane – a small-time cattle rustler who carves out a legacy as an outlaw. With themes of the open road, femme fatales and gunslingers, the saga is deeply rooted in traditional country tropes. That said, it is the newfound confidence of Crockett and the determination to push boundaries that make this final instalment truly stand out. While ‘Diamond Belle’, ‘Lonesome Dove’ and ‘Sweet Mother Texas’ capture a poignant, quiet beauty with their depiction of fate and isolation, ‘Crazy Woman Ridge’ and ‘Me & Shooter’ sit at the other end of the scale, embracing an unrestrained playfulness that hits just as hard. Expressing this full spectrum of human emotion in his lyricism and ambitiously layering delicate instrumentals – particularly in tracks that are often less than two minutes long – is something few could navigate as effortlessly as Crockett. Just look at standouts like ‘Kentucky Too Long’, ‘Low Down Freedom’ and album closer ‘Cover My Trail’ – each has a self-assurance not previously seen from the songwriter. By leaning into it, he captures something that is both experiential, yet loyal to his country heroes; emotive, yet not shrouded in melancholy; and playful, but never devoid of deeper meaning. With a hefty 20-song tracklist, it isn’t surprising that some of the songs feel like filler, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that additions like ‘Fastest Gun Alive’ and ‘I Shot Jesse James’ would have been axed if it were not determined to be a concept album. That being said, none feel particularly weak – they are simply just overshadowed by their counterparts, which embrace shimmering piano melodies, heightened theatricality, and push beyond what some would expect from a traditional country album. Ultimately, one has to give Charley Crockett his flowers now that he has reached the end of his ‘Sagebrush’ saga. Three albums in one year is a tough feat for even the most ambitious artists, and the ability to intertwine them in a way that isn’t dragged out is certainly not something to turn your nose up at. Yet, aside from the surface-level storytelling, what is most poignant about ‘Age Of The Ram’ is that it doesn’t seem merely to be the end of a trilogy; it feels like the beginning of a courageous new chapter for the country star.

Review (SputnikMusic) : Cormac McCarthy is a name immediately familiar to most. The iconic writer penned a strong contender for the Great American Novel with “Blood Meridian” but found true mainstream success with his Border Trilogy which rolled out over the course of the 90s. The first two installations are both extremely strong while the third – “Cities of the Plain” – is generally considered to be somewhat less compelling than the previous works. Of course, we’re talking about McCarthy here, which means it’s still better than what most writers could ever hope to write. The symmetry here is nearly perfect considering “Age of the Ram,” Charley Crockett’s capstone to the Sagebrush Trilogy which itself was initially inspired by the Border Trilogy, follows a similar arc. While showcasing a strong outing from one of modern country music’s brightest lights, it falters a bit in its quest to reach the same heights as “Dollar A Day” or “Lonesome Drifter.” However, that doesn’t mean this is a bad album. Far from it, “Age of the Ram” slots nicely into the trilogy. It’s clear from the intro skit that this album was designed to exemplify storytelling in its purest form. The ensuing 45 minutes of this record play out like a refined and dreamy trip weaving in and out of its central storyline ('Billy McLane,' 'Cover My Trail Tonight,' 'Fastest Gun Alive'), one-off tracks that could be on any of Crockett’s records ('Me & Shooter') and historical detours ('I Shot Jesse James'). But much of the record traces the story of the main character, Billy McLane. Crockett himself has said this album explores the main character as an outlaw, contrasted with his earlier journeys sketched out in the previous two albums. It’s an ambitious concept project, even for a country artist as thoroughly steeped in the long American musical tradition of character building as Crockett. The music on this album is more refined and focused than the exploration found on “Dollar A Day” whereas the overall album structure is much more experimental. There’s a whopping 20 songs packed into “Age of the Ram” but only about half of which are true songs. The other half are mixed between skits, audio interludes and short tracks that set the mood or advance the overarching story. Take for instance the interesting and short ‘Sweet Mother Texas’ which showcases what appears to be a song in 15/8 time. While this is a snappy story-mover, it slides into ‘Kentucky Too Long’ which is one of the strongest songs on the album (and of Crockett’s career) with its western bounce and slick grooves. This song in particular is instructive because the whole album leans heavily into both country and western music traditions. It’s a familiar combination for Crockett fans as he’s been infusing his records with a rich array of American roots, country, blues and western music since the beginning. There’s no shortage of slide guitars, thumping standup bass or rollicking old-timey piano on this record which lay the foundation for Crockett to croon over. Speaking of instrumentation, the more spins I give this album the more the quality of its production continues to impress me. That’s not terribly surprising considering the legendary Shooter Jennings has been the man behind the soundboards for the entirety of the Sagebrush Trilogy. Everything on this album sounds clear, warm and sublimely balanced. It’s a collaboration between two true-blue country veterans that pays off in spades and one that I hope continues on future albums. This brings me to my main criticism of this album, which is actually what sets it apart so much from the previous two records. The structural experimentation is certainly interesting on “Age of the Ram,” but at times it feels a bit aimless. For example, ‘The Life & Times of Billy McLane (Theme III)’ takes up a mere 42 seconds before handing off the baton to ‘Powder River’ which similarly clocks in under a minute. While it certainly makes the album feel more ethereal and cinematic, it also breaks up the momentum. On first listen, this album felt strangely cohesive in intent but disjointed in flow, and while the edges have smoothed with repeated listens, the issue is still present for me. It feels like some of the interludes and skits could have been swapped out for another complete song or two considering the full tracks here are quite strong. It’s a marked contrast to “Dollar A Day” which saw Crockett releasing a more focused and overall stronger album, despite some exceptional tracks on "Age of the Ram." Which again, isn’t to say that this is a bad album. In fact, I think the Border Trilogy analogy is actually quite apt here. While “All the Pretty Horses” was a commercial breakthrough centered on an intriguing and reasonably accessible story, “The Crossing” is the highlight for me, showcasing tight writing and exceptional characters throughout. This mirrors my general feelings about Crockett’s first two installments in the Sagebrush Trilogy. McCarthy’s third book found in “Cities of the Plain” tells a story neatly wrapping up the trilogy with a lot of heart, but fails to fully find its footing and suffers for it. I think the same argument could be made for “Age of the Ram.” It’s an interesting premise, and I have to give Crockett props for sticking to his guns, but I’m not sure it entirely worked. And that’s alright with me because in today’s country music landscape I’ll always take an artist who’s not afraid to take big swings over someone who plays it safe. Like I said in last year’s review of “Dollar A Day,” Charley Crockett has always done things his own way. He’s a constant reminder that true outlaw country is still alive and kicking, and that fact drives some of his less inspired contemporaries crazy. His stubborn refusal to be boxed in by country music industry slop is on full display on “Age of the Ram” and for that, along with all the things this album really does right, more than earns it a recommendation from me.