Street Language | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1986 | |||
Genre | Country, rock [1] | |||
Length | 39:23 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Rodney Crowell Booker T. Jones | |||
Rodney Crowell chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Street Language is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in 1986 (see 1986 in country music) by Columbia Records, his first release on that label. It peaked at #38 on the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, "Let Freedom Ring", "When I'm Free Again", "She Loves the Jerk" and "Looking for You" were released as singles but they all failed to chart within the top 20. This album was co-produced by R & B artist Booker T. Jones and features a blend of soul and country music.
In 1984, Crowell recorded what was to be a new album for Warner Bros., Street Language. [3] That album, a pop-sounding effort co–produced by David Malloy, was rejected by Warner Bros, and was never released. The label requested a more Nashville-friendly record, but Crowell negotiated a release from his contract and moved to Columbia Records. [3] He then he brought in Booker T. Jones as co-producer and re-recorded a more rock and roll/electric-sounding Street Language in 1986. [3]
The song "Looking for You" was co-written with Crowell's then wife, Rosanne Cash. "She Loves the Jerk" was written and first recorded by John Hiatt in 1983 and was included on his album, Riding with the King. It would later be covered by Elvis Costello.
Crowell's version of "I Don't Have to Crawl" was recorded for the Warner Bros. release, but did not make it onto the final Columbia album. [3] That track was released in 1989 on the Rodney Crowell Collection . [3]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Let Freedom Ring" | Rodney Crowell, Keith Sykes | 4:29 |
2. | "Ballad of Fast Eddie" | Crowell, Emory Gordy Jr. | 3:48 |
3. | "When I'm Free Again" | Crowell, Will Jennings | 3:48 |
4. | "She Loves the Jerk" | John Hiatt | 3:35 |
5. | "When the Blue Hour Comes" | Crowell, Jennings, Roy Orbison | 4:13 |
6. | "Oh King Richard" | Crowell | 4:15 |
7. | "Looking for You" | Rosanne Cash, Crowell | 4:33 |
8. | "Stay (Don't Be Cruel)" | Crowell, Sykes | 3:49 |
9. | "The Best I Can" | Crowell, Hank DeVito, Gordy | 2:41 |
10. | "Past Like a Mask" | Crowell | 4:12 |
Choir performed by 'Catch a Rising Choir' and brass ensemble is 'Uptown Horns'
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 38 |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 177 |
Year | Single | Peak positions |
---|---|---|
US Country | ||
1986 | "Let Freedom Ring" | — |
"When I'm Free Again" | 38 | |
1987 | "She Loves the Jerk" | 71 |
"Looking for You" | 59 | |
Bluebird is the fifteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on January 10, 1989, by Warner Records. Featuring mostly interpretations of work by artists such as the McGarrigle Sisters, Tom Rush, and Rodney Crowell, it included her most recent top-ten country-charting single, "Heartbreak Hill". The album enjoyed renewed interest in 2004 when "Heaven Only Knows" was used in the first episode of the fifth season of The Sopranos.
Rosanne Cash is the self-titled debut album of American country music artist Rosanne Cash, released on December 15, 1978. The album was never issued in the U.S. It was her only album for the German based Ariola Records, and the first to feature Rodney Crowell, who went on to produce Cash's other albums. After that album's release, Cash signed contracts with Columbia Records in 1979.
Evangeline is a 1981 album by Emmylou Harris that was composed mostly of leftover material from past recording sessions and which did not fit into any of her other albums. Songs included a remake of "Mister Sandman", "Evangeline", which she had previously performed with The Band, Rodney Crowell's "Ashes By Now", and a cover of John Fogerty's "Bad Moon Rising". Though it received mixed reviews upon its release, the album was yet another commercial success for Harris. It was certified Gold in less than a year after its release. A single release of "Mister Sandman" did well on the charts, though neither Ronstadt's nor Parton's record companies would allow their artists' vocals to be used on the single, so Harris rerecorded the song, singing all three parts for the single release. Rodney Crowell's "I Don't Have to Crawl" was released as the album's second single.
Thirteen is an album by the American musician Emmylou Harris, released in 1986. The title came from its status as her thirteenth studio album.
White Shoes is a studio album by Emmylou Harris, released in 1983. The album includes a rockish version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", a country remake of the Donna Summer hit "On the Radio", and a version of Sandy Denny's "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz". Both "In My Dreams" and "Pledging My Love" hit the #9 position on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1984.
No More Looking over My Shoulder is American country music artist Travis Tritt's sixth studio album, released on October 13, 1998. It was the last album to be released by Warner Bros. Records before leaving for Columbia Records in 2000. Three singles were released from this album, in order of release they were: "If I Lost You", the title track, and "Start The Car", although the latter became the first single of his career to miss Top 40 on the country charts.
No Holdin' Back is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on September 26, 1989 by Warner Records. Three singles were released from it, all of which charted on the Hot Country Songs charts: the Number One hits "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart", as well as the #2 hit "He Walked on Water". "It's Just a Matter of Time" was previously a Number One hit for Brook Benton in 1959 on the R&B charts, and for Sonny James in 1970 on the country charts. Glen Campbell also had a #7-peaking rendition of the song in 1986.
Americana is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his second for Warner Bros. Records. Murphey found a receptive home with the label and began a long association with the label's president and resident producer, Jim Ed Norman. Unlike his previous albums, Americana contains material written mainly by other writers—Murphey only wrote or co-wrote three of the songs. The album's notable tracks include the #1 hit "A Long Line of Love" and the #4 "Face in the Crowd", the latter a duet with singer Holly Dunn. The album peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
The Notorious Cherry Bombs is the only studio album by the American country music group The Notorious Cherry Bombs, a band that formerly served as country singer Rodney Crowell's backing band in the 1980s. This is the band's only studio album, with Crowell and Vince Gill alternating as lead vocalists. Released in 2004 on Universal South Records, the album produced one chart single in "It's Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long". "Making Memories of Us" was previously recorded by Tracy Byrd on his 2003 album The Truth About Men, and later in 2004 by Keith Urban on his album Be Here; Urban's rendition was released as a single, reaching Number One on the country charts in 2005.
Heroes & Friends is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released on August 31, 1990 by Warner Records. Except for the title track, every song on this album is a duet with another recording artist. "A Few Ole Country Boys" and the title track were both released as singles from this album, peaking at numbers 8 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 1990.
Walk the Way the Wind Blows is the third studio album by American country music singer Kathy Mattea. It was released in 1986 on Mercury Records. This album produced Mattea's first Top Ten country hit in "Love at the Five and Dime", which reached #3 on the Billboard country charts. Following this song were three more Top Ten hits: the title track at #10, "You're the Power" at #5, and "Train of Memories" at #6.
Life's Highway is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Steve Wariner. It was released in 1985 by MCA. Three singles were released from it in 1986, and the first two singles, including the title track, went to number-one. This album peaked at #22. Rodney Crowell later recorded "She's Crazy for Leaving" on his 1989 album Diamonds & Dirt.
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Ain't Living Long Like This is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, released in 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. It failed to enter the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, "Elvira", "Song for the Life" and "(Now and Then, There's) A Fool Such as I" were released as singles but they all failed to chart within the top 40. Despite this, Ain't Living Long Like This is considered one of Crowell's best and most influential albums. Brett Hartenbach of Allmusic says it "not only showcases his songwriting prowess, but also his ability to deliver a song, whether it's one of his own or the work of another writer". Most of the songs on this album were later covered by other artists including The Oak Ridge Boys and Alan Jackson. When the album was re-released in 2002 the font on the cover was enlarged to make it more legible.
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Jewel of the South is an album by the American country music artist Rodney Crowell. Released in 1995, it was his second and last album under the MCA Records label. Like its predecessor, it failed to chart on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Only one track, "Please Remember Me", was released as a single; it reached No. 69 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Tim McGraw would release a successful cover of the song on his 1999 album A Place in the Sun that hit No. 1 in the United States and Canada, as well as reaching No. 10 on The Billboard Hot 100.
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Real Friends is the third studio album by American country music singer Chris Janson. It was released via Warner Records Nashville on October 18, 2019. The album contains the singles "Good Vibes" and "Done" and "Waitin' on 5".