Album Review – Charley Crockett’s “Age of the Ram”

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Western (#512) on the Country DDS. AI = “clean”

Releasing three full-length albums in a year is a pretty ambitious feat. So is releasing a concept album of any kind, especially two in a row like Crockett has done now, and one with 20 tracks like Crockett’s latest, Age of the Ram, even if it includes a decent amount of short interludes. But leave it to one of the hardest working men in music to pull it all off, play a hundred-something dates as well, and never show as much as a wrinkle in his shirt as he takes the stage in front of his name emblazoned in the background.

Charley has touted releasing concept records in the past. That was his claim about 2022’s The Man From Waco. But Charley Crockett likes to claim a lot of things. Any concept tied to mentor James Hand was loose at best. Crockett’s last album Dollar A Day released in August 2025 definitely was conceptualized, however loosely, and resulted in a Grammy nomination in the new Best Traditional Album category, and deservedly so.

Age of the Ram is the third and final installment of what Crockett calls his “Sagebrush Trilogy” following the harrowing story of Billy McLane, and truly fulfills the promise of a conceptualized narrative tying many of the songs together, and revolving themes and characters, even if this doesn’t encompass all the songs. If nothing else, Crockett remains hungry and ambitious, always trying to outdo and challenge himself, and prove he’s uninteresting in coasting off any previous momentum.

Like any good concept album, Age of the Ram comes with some songs that work well autonomously from any greater story arc. “Kentucky Too Long” is quintessential Charley Crockett with that greasy, soul and vintage R&B influence brought to country in a way that makes the animation of the lower extremities almost impossible to resist. “Kentucky Too Long” is destined to become a standard in Charley’s concert arsenal.

“Me & Shooter” might have next to nothing to do with the album’s bigger story, but it’s still one hell of a track with tons of hot licks, reminding you of one of those old Willie Nelson and Family tracks paying tribute to their peers back in the ’70s. Age of the Ram is a Western album overall though, not a country one. Some of the songs that show off the of Charley’s Western side best are the second song, “Lonesome Dove,” and the song about his central character, “Billy McLane.”

Though Age of The Ram is fictional, there is a lot of Charley Crockett in Billy McLane. Singing about running from the past, and running from the law came in sharp focus for Crockett and his fans recently when he tried to cross the Canadian border on tour as he’d done multiple times before but was denied due to a previous felony charge for marijuana. Being pursued by a syndicate and judged by the rest of society is something Charley has experienced first-hand.


Along with recalling his personal escapades with producer Shooter Jennings, Age of the Ram has another sidebar in the song “I Shot Jesse James,” set in a time much earlier than the rest of the record, telling the story of Robert Ford who killed Jesse James in 1882 for a $10,000 reward. Incidentally, the killing happened on April 3rd—the same day Age of the Ram was released. Little Easter eggs like this can be found throughout the Charley Crockett catalog.

But in some respects, the Old West notions of Age of the Ram are what allows the album to meander a little bit, if not outright bog down and become boring in some stretches. To build out his narrative and primary character, Crockett does a lot of back filling, which doesn’t always result in the immersive, cinematic experience intended, and instead challenges your attentiveness. You’ve seen some share that the 15-song Dollar A Day is a tighter record, and that’s probably a fair assessment.

One of Crockett’s greatest strengths is fusing classic American genres seamlessly together, with country being the primary influence, but weaving blues and R&B into it. Aside from “Kentucky Too Long,” the Western aspect of Age of the Ram doesn’t allow for this type of sonic exploration. And as is very often the case with Charley Crockett records, the perspiration gets ahead of the inspiration of some songs, resulting in some weak writing as opposed taking the time to allow the lyrics to really marinate and be refined.

Charley Crockett has already been out there saying he’s done with his next album. Sources say he’s been in Clovis, New Mexico recording at the old Norman Petty place that Buddy Holly helped make famous, as well as Shooter’s place in La La Land. It remains a fair question if spending more time on less songs would end in better results for Crockett. His albums are never bad, but you crave more body and consistency from an album like Age of the Ram.

The saving grace is that Age of the Ram does comes with a good handful of very strong tracks that you sense Crockett will be playing for many years to come, even if you have to dig or be patient to find them. This also is one of those albums that turns more favorable with subsequent listens, and the second half feels stronger than the first, so patience is important with this one.

Charley Crockett has become even more polarizing than he was previously during the rollout of his Sagebrush Trilogy via strong political statements, mixing it up with Gavin Adcock, and being called to the mat by Paul Cauthen, who incidentally release his own new album on the same day (Book of Paul). The authenticity questions will continue linger, and now being joined in by knee-jerk reactionaries, running down whatever Charley Crockett does.

But Age of the Ram is an album about persevering from the ever-present burden and pursuit of judgement, and trying to holding on to yourself amid the noise you’re surrounded by. In the last year, Crockett’s words have sometimes gotten ahead of him, as has his ambition. But he’s never stopped putting in the work. He’s never taken anything for granted. He takes the doubts and criticisms he receives and uses them as fuel and motivation. And just like Billy McLane, he remains one step ahead of his adversaries.

7.9/10

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