The busiest man in the country music business stays… busy. It’s hard to argue that there is a more prolific artist in country music than Charley Crockett right now. Continually operating at pace that few can match, Charley has released a whopping 17 studio albums since his 2015 debut, A Stolen Jewel, as well as a live album, a mixtape, and two EPs. But tonight’s release, on a random Tuesday night, might be his most surprising. Actually, if you’re old enough to remember, back when Whiskey Riff first started, nearly all new music came out on Tuesdays rather than Fridays. It might not have the same ring to it, but I liked New Music Tuesdays better. I digress… Just a few weeks removed from the release date of Age Of The Ram, the third album in his Shooter Jennings-produced Sagebrush Trilogy, Charley surprised fans with another album titled Clovis. Charley recently wiped his Instagram clean, which has become a pretty universal sign in the music industry that new music is coming, but not even a month after your last album? Not as common. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was some kind of mistake or fraudulent leak (it’s not an Apple Music yet), but then to accompany the surprise release, Charley dropped a video on Instagram where he simply says:  “You can drop a f-***** record whenever the f*** you want. And what’s more important to me is dropping all this really good art right now.” View this post on Instagram Fair enough. Shortly after the release of Age Of The Ram, Charley confirmed that he and Shooter had already finished his next project, saying: “In a country music scene full of frauds they been dying to get me hung. Ain’t never been more proud of a record than ‘Age Of The Ram.’ 3 albums in 12 months. Me and Shooter Jennings sure figured out how to tie one on. Guess I might as well tell y’all, the next one’s already done. I know cowboys who pay to stay off the bull I’m riding. To the folks who get what I’m putting down, thanks for listening. I can’t do it without you.” And then recently in a sit-down with PBS, he confirmed that he and Shooter were recording at the iconic Norman Petty Studios, which Charley said he had been trying to get into for years: “This is my first time playing like outside Amphitheater there, and then after the show, the bus is riding up to Clovis, New Mexico, and there’s this old studio there that I’d been trying to get into for years, it’s been closed down where they only do… It’s kind of like a tourism museum. And it was the first place that Waylon Jennings ever recorded, and it was where the early Buddy Holly recordings came from with a Recording Engineer/Producer named Norman Petty. And I’m doing those recordings with my friend, Shooter, Waylon Jennings’ son. The 14-track album features a number of originals co-written by Charley and Shooter, as well as a Johnny Cash cover, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town,” and a handful of other co-writers. Clovis was released via Charley’s own (presumably) $10 Cowboy label, a departure from Island Records (UMG), where the albums of the Sagebrush Trilogy were released. It would appear that Charley is going full indie, which means we might see even more music from him this year without a label holding him back. Clovis Tracklist: 1. The Hallelujah Trail 2. Down by Law 3. One Eyed Jack 4. Image of a Woman 5. Eagle and the Crow 6. Top Hand 7. Country Music 8. Last Night at the Alamo 9. Clovis 10. Don’t Take Your Guns to Town 11. Albuquerque Lights 12. I Ain’t Riding Anymore 13. Honky Tonk Philosophy 14. Waylon Rides AgainThe post Charley Crockett Drops Surprise Album, ‘Clovis’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.