Robert Earl Keen’s 16 albums over the past three decades, including his just-released “Ready for Confetti,” haven’t made him a household name — and that’s a positive for those who search for honest music that doesn’t bend to popular pressure. Instead his world-weary alt country tunes, mixed with an array of up-tempo songs that dip into blues and other formats, have made him the Lone Star State’s answer to Townes Van Zandt mixed with John Hiatt, Earle with a dash of his buddy Lyle Lovett. Yes, he’s the thinking man’s singer-songwriter who isn’t afraid to let his musical light shine.
“A long time ago Harlan Howard, who had written all these hits in the 1960s [including “Heartaches by the Number” and “Busted”], talked to me about writing. I had tried to get him to write with me. I was a total pest,” said Keen. “He said, ‘Well, son, I would like to write with you but the chances of us writing a bad song are as good as us writing a good song.’ So now, when I get a bad song going, I drop it like a hot potato and move on.”
