At the rate Charley Crockett cranks out records, you’d think he’d eventually hand us a dud just by the law of averages. But that day still hasn’t come. Dollar A Day – the second installment of the Sagebrush Sessions, coming just five months after Lonesome Drifter – keeps his hot streak alive, spinning another batch of songs that sound like they’ve been around forever yet somehow feel brand new.
Recorded at the renowned Sunset Sound Studio 3 in Hollywood and co-produced by Shooter Jennings, the album leans into a blend of funky country grooves, Southern soul, and that postured poise that Crockett brings to every record. Dollar A Day packs the kind of grit and attitude you’d expect if Shooter raided his father Waylon’s old tape vault from the ’70s. The guitars are loose and greasy, the rhythms just ahead of the bar enough to keep you leaning forward.
“With Shooter, I’ve never felt more like myself in the studio,” says Crockett. “I don’t feel judged. At all. It’s truly a partnership. Hell, I’d say he’s my best friend, and you can’t aspire to greatness without that kind of trust. With Lonesome Drifter, it felt like we opened the portal. With Dollar A Day, we stepped through and came out the other side.”
Crockett’s voice is the glue – a conversational drawl that can handle a lonesome ballad one minute and a back-alley shuffle the next. The arrangements weave in traces of blues, funk, and soul without ever losing his country core – classically driven from the depths of a dusty jukebox, but with a modern swagger.
Dollar A Day is classic Good Time Charley – rooted deep in tradition, unafraid to take detours, and somehow making it all sound effortless. If there’s a ceiling on Crockett’s creative run, we can’t see it from here – and we’re more than happy about that.
– @meanwhile_in_music
