Fate"s Right Hand finds Rodney Crowell eschewing the hands-on autobiographical narratives of The Houston Kid (one of his best ever) for songs about less concrete, but no less essential, concerns. As the self-helpers might say, this is an album about growth, about knowing the difference between what you can change and what you can"t. It"s about facing your mistakes--or wishing you wanted to anyway (on "The Man in Me")--and it includes a recitation about meditation ("Time to Go Inward") and a rousing anthem about wanting to stick around, problems and all ("Earthbound"). Crowell seems to be in a particularly introspective version of the middle-age crazies, one as brave as it is obvious in its pop-psych references to Jesus and Buddha (and Minnie Pearl, too). So Crowell may likely be "Preachin" to the Choir"--if you ain"t ready to look inward, you may find Fate a tad cloying. Then again, the jangling riffs, irresistible choruses, funny rhymes, and supple pop and country-rock rhythms are for everyone. --David Cantwell