Rodney Crowell Unearths Lost Album “Then Again” After Nearly 20 Years: 'I Found Something I Really Like' (Exclusive)

Chris BarillaFri, June 26, 2026 at 3:15 PM UTC

0

Rodney CrowellCredit: Claudia Church -

Rodney Crowell has decided to release a lost 2006 album, titled Then Again, after an assistant discovered it on an old hard drive

The album features collaborations with Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and the late Guy Clark, among others

Crowell says revisiting the album highlights his long career and commitment to creating meaningful music for generations

Rodney Crowell may not have been looking for a lost album at first, but he certainly found one. And in releasing it, he is revisiting a fan-favorite era that has come to define his individual sonics to legions of listeners worldwide.

Rewind to the turn of the millennia. From 2001-2005, Crowell released a trilogy of critically acclaimed albums: The Houston Kid, Fate's Right Hand, and The Outsider. Those three projects were not only well-received by listeners, they cemented Crowell's role as a foundational Americana artist. But what fans didn't know was that there was another project, recorded in 2006, that expanded on that trilogy: Then Again.

"This was really a fourth installment with that creative crew at Treasure Isle Studio with Pete Coleman and Stuart Smith and Michael Rhodes and Greg Moore, all of us," Crowell tells PEOPLE.

However, an effort to depart from the world-building he did across his iconic trilogy led to the album's shelving at the time. "It was really important for me at that particular moment to put this one aside because I needed to have a different experience," he recalls. "When I listened to it then, I just said, 'God, I just hear all of my same production techniques glaring at me' ... It made me self-conscious."

Rodney CrowellCredit: Claudia Church

Since that moment, the celebrated singer-songwriter had spent nearly two decades continually moving Americana forward, releasing new music, earning acclaim and continuing to expand on his already-prolific career. Then, one day, an old hard drive unexpectedly resurfaced in storage, discovered by a part-time assistant helping around Crowell's house.

"She said, 'What is this?' " Crowell, 74, shares. "And we put it on, I listened to it. I went, 'Oh, that's an album I made a long time ago.' "

Though he just released his album Airline Highway less than a year ago, Crowell said the decision to also put out Then Again came quickly after he listened back. "It sounded good to me," he says. "I found something I really like. Let's put it out."

"Being away from it for so long and not hearing it, when we put it on, I listened to it, I could hear it," Crowell touts. "I could hear that it sounded fresh to me. The production didn't sound dated. It didn't sound like something I'd just done over and over again."

In uncovering this musical time capsule, Crowell was able to tap back into the musical community that he built around himself during that era. Then Again features appearances from longtime friends and collaborators, including Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Benmont Tench and the late Guy Clark.

"When the creativity becomes sort of one thing, a language develops that's really not about words," Crowell explains. "The music just finds itself because we were willing to let the music find itself."

Rodney CrowellCredit: Claudia Church

Among the album's most meaningful moments is Crowell's final recorded collaboration with Clark, an individual he proudly cites as one of the most influential figures in his life, from both a personal and professional standpoint.

"Well, he was angry with me at that particular time over some boneheaded thing that I did," Crowell remembers moments before his late friend's final session with him. "When Guy was pissed off at you, it was the time to grow up."

Advertisement

Instead of letting tension drive them apart, Crowell extended an olive branch. "I actually called Guy and I said, 'Guy, I know you're angry with me, but listen, come over here and put that anger to good use because I need for you to help me tell the story with that song.' "

When Clark agreed, the two crafted "Are You One of Us?," a reminder of the sheer vocal power the two bring to the table. "The gravity of his delivery, it gave my delivery more gravity," Crowell notes. "And that's what I wanted to happen."

Another stellar standout on the record comes by way of Crowell's collaboration with Lovett and Chely Wright on "Whatcha Gonna Do Now #2," for which PEOPLE can exclusively premiere the accompanying music video here. With smooth steel guitar backing and visuals that place the artists in scenes ranging from wide-open prairies to the hustle and bustle of New York City, the song and video perfectly capture the spirit of a nation in a way that only Crowell can.

To Crowell, the totality of revisiting Then Again has prompted reflection not only on a forgotten album, but on the creative life he has spent decades intently building. "I don't think I was destined for stardom," he reflects. "I think what I was destined for was to have a long career."

"I want to remain as creative as I can until I drop dead," he proclaims. "What I am doing is continuing to create at whatever level that I can, striving for the most of the energy and creativity I have right up until it's over."

While many artists spend their later years carefully curating their legacies for the now and forever, Crowell seems content simply following wherever the next song leads.

"This music stuff is fun," he says. Though, emotional weight is still a totem of his work. "I hope that they understand the sincerity of it," he says. "It's my job to serve the song more than it is to create a persona."

Rodney Crowell's Then AgainCredit: New West Records

In terms of what he hopes happens when someone discovers Then Again for the first time, either as a seasoned listener or a new fan, Crowell says, "would be that they go, 'Oh, well, I need to go back and see what this guy's done.' Maybe they'll go back and discover something I did 25 years ago."

For an artist who previously shelved earlier works in an attempt to stave off repetition, it marks a full-circle moment of recognition of a particularly potent time in Crowell's craft that created music which will continue to impact and transcend generations.

Then Again is out on all major streaming platforms now.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”