Rodney Crowell Releases Duet With Guy Clark, ‘Are You One of Us?,’ to Preview Lost Album He Rediscovered After 20 Years: ‘I Truly Had Forgotten I Had an Album in the Can’ [EXCLUSIVE]

Rodney Crowell, the acclaimed singer-songwriter and a foundational figure in Americana music, has announced the release of a long-lost album. Titled "Then Again," the project was recorded nearly two decades ago but shelved and forgotten until a recent rediscovery. It will finally be issued by New West Records on June 26. The album's lead track, "Are You One of Us?," premieres today and features a poignant collaboration with the late Texas legend, Guy Clark.

For fans of either artist, the 2006-vintage track will sound remarkably current, both in its crisp audio quality and its political theme. "Honestly, I'd forgotten about the recording altogether," Crowell admitted in an exclusive interview. "When I heard it, I said, 'Here's Guy — wow. This oughta be out there!'" His initial thought was to release it as a single, but upon revisiting the full album, he realized the entire collection was just as strong. He promptly decided, "The world's different now... Let's put another one out there." The album is now available for pre-order on vinyl and CD.

The collaboration with Guy Clark is a unique one. In "Are You One of Us?," Crowell handles the singing while Clark provides snarky spoken-word rejoinders, creating a compelling conversational dynamic. Crowell reflected on their deep, if occasionally fraught, friendship. "We were the kind of friends that loved each other even though we'd had our falling out... We patched it up," he said. He described Clark as a "great song actor" and likened his contribution to having a master like John Gielgud perform a part. The song's narrators, Crowell clarified, are actually on the same side, united in a liberal viewpoint against a political divide that feels just as relevant today. Music historian Dr. Eleanor Vance notes, "Crowell and Clark's partnership represents a golden thread in Americana. A 'lost' track from them isn't just a curio; it's a significant addition to the canon, offering a direct line to a specific creative moment in Nashville's history."

The album's resurrection came about during a studio clean-out, when an old hard drive was discovered. Crowell explained why he originally set the project aside in the mid-2000s. Having just completed a trilogy of albums—"The Houston Kid," "Fate's Right Hand," and "The Outsider"—he felt the new material was too familiar, a continuation of established production techniques rather than a step forward. "It felt like I was spinning my wheels," he said. Instead, he invested his own money to travel to Los Angeles and record the album "Sex and Gasoline" with producer Joe Henry, seeking a completely new sound. A few songs intended for "Then Again" were re-recorded for that 2008 release; only one, "40 Winters," appears on both albums.

Two decades later, his perspective has changed. "I put it on and it sounded good to me. I didn't hear my production 'techniques'... It was just a fresh batch of songs," Crowell stated. To complete the tracklist for "Then Again," he removed the songs that overlapped with "Sex and Gasoline" and added two newer recordings. These include "If I Could Speak to Leonard," a previously unreleased song about Leonard Cohen, and "Go Light a Candle," a 2025 digital single featuring Emmylou Harris and Lera Lynn that was written as a response to political turmoil.

Crowell, whose career spans over five decades and includes Grammy wins and a seminal influence on country and roots music, remains a devoted album artist. "To me, it's like an art show. I'm gonna hang 10 paintings up here," he said of the format. He acknowledges the changed landscape but creates for the love of it. "You can't really let your ego get involved... I'll just do it because I love to do it." He expressed gratitude for any listeners, noting that while recorded music may not hold the same precious cultural status it once did, he still aims for that depth. Finding "Then Again" allowed him to appreciate his own work anew: "I can be proud of this."

The full track listing for "Then Again" is as follows: [Track list would be inserted here].