Charley Crockett Lonesome Drifter
Charley Crockett's Lonesome Drifter stakes a claim as a roots-forward chronicle of longing and hustle, where autobiographical storytelling animates a blend of country, blues, and rock. Across professional reviews, critics point repeatedly to songs that make the record combustible and intimate at once, with “Life Of A Country Singer”, “This Crazy Life” and the title cut “Lonesome Drifter” emerging as the collection's most talked-about moments. The record's narrative focus on mortality, broken promises and Texas identity gives the songs a weathered authority that reviewers found hard to ignore.
The critical consensus lands on praise tempered by measured reservation: Lonesome Drifter earned a 76.25/100 consensus score across 4 professional reviews, and reviewers consistently applauded Crockett's gritty voice, spare language and Shooter Jennings's rootsy production for keeping the music immediate. Critics highlighted “Life Of A Country Singer” and “Easy Money” for turning lived experience into emotional centerpieces, while “Game I Can Can't Win”, “This Crazy Life” and “Lonesome Drifter” were noted as standout tracks that showcase storytelling, honky-tonk momentum and bluesy textures. Across reviews the album's modest runtime and focused arrangements were praised for concentrating Crockett's strengths.
Some critics flagged familiar territory and a nostalgic tilt as limitations, noting that the record occasionally trades novelty for tradition; still, the prevailing view among music critics is that Lonesome Drifter is a rewarding entry in Crockett's catalog that reinforces his reputation for vivid, working-class narratives and roots authenticity. Below, the detailed reviews map how the best songs on Lonesome Drifter carry the album's emotional weight and explain why many consider it worth hearing.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
This Crazy Life
2 mentions
"“This Crazy Life” is a heartbreaking centerpiece for Crockett’s latest album"— Glide Magazine
Easy Money
2 mentions
"the various points throughout the album—”Easy Money” and “Life Of A Country Singer,” especially—where Stephen Barber’s tasteful string arrangements lend"— Paste Magazine
Game I Can’t Win
2 mentions
"The album’s second track, “Game I Can’t Win,” is a smooth, classic country tune with strong forward momentum"— Paste Magazine
“This Crazy Life” is a heartbreaking centerpiece for Crockett’s latest album
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Lonesome Drifter
Game I Can’t Win
Jamestown Ferry
Easy Money
Under Neon Lights
This Crazy Life
The Death of Bill Bailey
Never No More
Life Of A Country Singer
One Trick Pony
Night Rider
Amarillo By Morning
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Charley Crockett’s Lonesome Drifter finds its strongest moments in songs that fold autobiography into uncompromising roots music, particularly “Life Of A Country Singer” and “Easy Money”. The reviewer leans into Crockett’s gritty storytelling and feels those tracks showcase why they are the best songs on Lonesome Drifter, because they make his lived experience audible and visceral. The writing voice here is admiring and specific - noting how heartbreak in Crockett’s songs "shatters like glass on concrete" and how the crescendos and lyrics crystallize his hustler’s past. Overall, the best tracks serve as emotional centerpieces that justify Crockett’s move to bigger stages while keeping his Lone Star roots intact.
Key Points
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The best song, "Life Of A Country Singer," is the album's emotional centerpiece because it crystallizes Crockett's autobiographical voice.
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The album's core strengths are its rooted Texas identity and its blend of country, blues, and rock anchored by vivid storytelling.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a voice equal parts rueful and knowing, Charley Crockett makes Lonesome Drifter feel like an itinerary of loss where the best tracks - “Lonesome Drifter” and “This Crazy Life” - work hardest. The title cut is menacing and jolting, a perfect opening salvo, while “This Crazy Life” is a gloriously peak-bummer that offers an irresistible olive branch. If you search for the best songs on Lonesome Drifter, those two tracks, plus the sneering “Game I Can’t Win”, repeatedly seize the listener with vivid storytelling and hard-earned craft. The record’s modest length concentrates Crockett’s strengths: spare language, ragged melodies, and a drifter’s moral gravity.
Key Points
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The title track is best for its menacing, jolting opening and vivid imagery.
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The album’s core strengths are spare storytelling, country tradition reverence, and concentrated emotional punch.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his typically conversational, slightly knowing tone Ben Salmon argues that Charley Crockett’s Lonesome Drifter still excels on the best songs like “Game I Can’t Win” and the title track, where self-reliance and a simmering distrust of the industry fuel classic country momentum. He points to the cinematic sweep on tracks such as “Life Of A Country Singer” and the deep-organ sheen of “One Trick Pony” as proof that Crockett remains remarkably even-keeled and listenable. The review reads like a fan note and a close listen at once, noting honky tonk, bluesy love songs and Spaghetti Western murder tales as highlights that make these the best tracks on Lonesome Drifter.
Key Points
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The best song is strongest for its lyrical critique of the music industry and classic-country momentum in “Game I Can’t Win”.
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The album’s core strengths are Crockett’s consistent, genre-blurring sound and tasteful arrangements that make stories cinematic.
Critic's Take
Ten years in, Charley Crockett's Lonesome Drifter mines nostalgia and storytelling to reveal its best songs. The review repeatedly elevates “This Crazy Life” as a heartbreaking centerpiece, and singles out “Under Neon Lights” and “Never No More” for vivid autobiographical moments. With Shooter Jennings's rootsy production keeping things immediate, these tracks become the standout cuts and answer the question of the best songs on Lonesome Drifter. The record feels like a vulnerable retrospective, and those three songs crystallize why Crockett's songwriting still feels urgent and present.
Key Points
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“This Crazy Life” is best because it is described as the album's heartbreaking centerpiece and emotional fulcrum.
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The album's core strengths are its storytelling, rootsy production, and vulnerable, autobiographical songwriting.