Album Review – Jeff Crosby’s “Another Petal Falls Off of the Rose”

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#564 (Alt-country) on the Country DDS

In an efficient and refreshing eight songs, Jeff Crosby offers more entertainment value, more quality songwriting, and makes a stronger case as to why he should be high on your depth chart than the 20-song hard drive dumps from the viral Tik-Tok crowd could ever accomplish. Almost like Tom Petty songs, these tracks immediately seep into your bones, and expose Jeff Crosby as a gifted and multi-dimensional musician.

In a world of criminally underrated artists, high crimes and midemeanors should be levied against a host of white collar criminals in the music industry for overlooking the work of Jeff Crosby all of these years. The singer, songwriter, auxiliary member of Reckless Kelly, and former guitarist for Widespread Panic songwriter Jerry Joseph is plenty lauded by his fellow performers. It’s only due to Crosby’s willingness over the years to share and cede the spotlight to others that the quality of his output outpaces his name recognition.

The opening song of his new album called “Out In the Country” is one of those tracks that immediately has you reaching for the volume knob and cranking it clockwise unabated as your factory speakers buzz and the old lady at the red light next to you gives you the stink eye. But this album really isn’t a rager. The writing is involved and thoughtful, and captures Crosby pondering the passing of time as a veteran performer feeling his age.

Since the album was produced by the legendary Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, you don’t really a get a country affair here except for in passing. Sometimes the production turns a little too cute, like the sitar sounds in the second half of the song “Memory and a Dream.” But they didn’t set out to make a country album or even exclusively a roots one. They set out to make a Jeff Crosby album, and they accomplished this quite well.


If you think the title of this album Another Petal Falls Off The Rose is a stroke of poetic brilliance, wait until you hear the song. As time goes on, we all have things taken from us. The flesh is not as supple. But Crosby uses this as songwriting manna to really craft some thoughtful and thought-provoking moments. The Byrds-like guitar opening of “Memory and a Dream” draws you in, but it’s the wisdom of the lyricism and the chorus especially that really get the listener to take stock.

The writing crescendos into the ruminations of the final song, “Don’t Wanna Die Young.” At some point, we all hit that moment when life is less in the windshield, and more in the rear view. “Sometimes it’s hard to admit, this is as good as it could get,” Crosby sings, but there’s also a sense of ownership, if not power in these self-reflections that we still have agency in our own fate, and it’s never too late to tighten up on the reigns, or steer life in the direction we want it to go.

As much as it’s the writing of this album that makes it remarkable, Crosby’s deftness at crafting melodies for these tracks ensures that no matter what season of life you’re in, or where your genre preferences lay, enjoyment can be gleaned from these tracks. This is just an appealing album to listen to if nothing else, with interesting treatments to the songs.

As a rising tide in resurgent country and roots music seems to be hitting the high water mark, it’s not exactly raising all boats. More established performers and songwriters like Jeff Crosby sometimes feel like they’re on the outside looking into it all, even though their music and merit demand elevated attention as well. Jeff Crosby and Another Petal Falls Off of the Rose certainly do.

8.2/10

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