Darrell Scott wrote the Dixie Chicks hit “Long Time Gone” and scores of country songs for the likes of Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Brad Paisley. At the same time, Scott worked as an in-demand studio musician and producer and released a string of well-regarded solo recordings.
But “A Crooked Road” — Scott’s new 20-song, two-disc set out Tuesday on his own Full Light Records label — doesn’t exactly celebrate his success as a Nashville tunesmith and multi-instrumentalist. Rather, it’s a series of wistful glances into a past touched by love and relationships filled with loss and longing.
“A crooked road is hard road with all these twists and turns,” Scott said during a recent phone call from a tour stop in Virginia. “It’s hard to find love and there’s a meandering, chaotic quality to that. But there’s a verse in the title song that says, ‘And only when I’m looking back, I see the straight and narrow.’ Looking back, there’s all this wisdom and all this clarity that was missing in the moment.
Not only did Scott write and sing all the songs and play all the instruments on “A Crooked Road,” he took the snapshot self-portraits that appear inside the CD cover, making it a sort of ultimate DIY collection.
“I think of this album as a self-portrait,” said Scott, who turned 50 last year. “A series of songs of the artist painting himself. Some songs might go back 10 years, while others were written within the last year. The photos are from the past 30 years, with the earliest photo from around age 20.”
Scott has a solo show at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur on May 27. For him, though, solo can mean a whole bunch of instruments, including guitar, mandolin, banjo and piano, and an off-the-cuff set that time-trips through his huge back catalog of songs.
“I never have a set list,” Scott said. “Often, I don’t even know the first song I’m going to play. I’m interested in making music in the moment. I play that way and I sing that way. That’s much more interesting than some old set list I’ve labored over.”
For someone who started playing covers in bar bands, that approach to performing is something that’s steadily evolved and stems from a newfound sense of freedom.
“I’m very fortunate to have had success as a songwriter,” Scott said. “What it’s bought me is basically a license to do whatever I want musically and creatively. Now, rather than being a Nashville musician on call, I play for friends and on projects I think are going to be really cool. Other than that, I’d rather work on my own stuff or spend time cooking or hiking or being with my kids.”
One project Scott said he was more than happy to sign up for was Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant’s Band of Joy recording and tour. Following on his country-tinged “Raising Sand” collaboration with Alison Krauss, Plant rounded up a group of Nashville musicians that included Scott, guitarist and co-producer Buddy Miller, vocalist Patty Griffin, drummer Marco Giovino and bassist Byron House.
The Band of Joy tour begins in Memphis on July 13 and the album is due out on Rounder Records later in the summer.
“I haven’t done much touring like this, but this one was worth pursuing,” Scott said. “I think we made a really good album. Robert was very excited about the music and very gracious with the musicians, and the same people who played and sang on the album will be out playing it live. It was a great collaboration in the studio and I think that will come across on stage in the same way.”
Concert Preview
Darrell Scott. 8 p.m. May 27. $20 advance, $25 door, Eddie's Attic, 515 North McDonough Street, Decatur, 404-377-4976, www.eddiesattic.com
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