The “new” album, out today via New West Records, the 10-song collection is actually a long-lost chapter in Crowell’s catalogue, recorded largely in 2005 and then quietly shelved for two decades before the songwriter rediscovered it in his home archive.
“I guess you could call it a lost album,” Crowell has said. “I stumbled upon it in my vault at home. I’d forgotten about it completely.” That forgotten record has now emerged as Then Again, a snapshot of an artist caught between one celebrated period of his career and another.
At the time these sessions were cut at Treasure Isle Studios in Nashville, Crowell was riding a creative resurgence sparked by The Houston Kid, Fate’s Right Hand and The Outsider. Yet despite producing the album with Steuart Smith, Crowell never felt satisfied with the finished masters. The songs were strong and the band was firing, but something about the project failed to connect with him, and it was put aside as newer records took shape. Twenty years later, distance brought a different perspective. Revisiting the tapes, Crowell heard an album he was finally ready to embrace.
Then Again features an enviable supporting cast that reads like an Americana hall of fame roll call. Lyle Lovett and Chely Wright appear on “Whatcha Gonna Do Now #2”. Benmont Tench contributes to the sessions, and the closing bonus track “Go Light a Candle” pairs Crowell with Emmylou Harris and Lera Lynn. The album’s first single “Are You One Of Us?” is a duet with the late Guy Clark, the final recording between the two friends.
Then Again is available today on vinyl, CD and digital.