If you spoke his name above a whisper/ He d
just disappear into the hot Texas night, Crockett laments on the introductory track to his first of two planned albums in 2021, a tribute to the late Texas country icon. While Crockett previously played bluesman, honky-tonk caller, and folk singer-songwriter, 2020 s
Welcome to Hard Times asserted him as a shapeshifter – always bending to the sounds of human experience.
On
10 for Slim, that versatility enlightens his grief.
Crockett waltzes through compositions by the real deal, as Willie Nelson described Hand, not only with the confidence of an artist who released nine albums in the last six years, but with the intimacy of their friendship seeping through his rounded syllables. The San Benito native abandons his once biting, lisped voice for a smoother, South Texas-meets-New Orleans drawl. It s still no quivering Slim croak, but the Austinite s unique vocals color the pared-down, selective instrumentation.