[ourplace] Trace Adkins exclusive: "Whippoorwills and Freight Trains"
- From: "Vickie" <rolisonv@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Our Place List" <ourplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:32:04 -0700
BlankTrace Adkins exclusive: 'Whippoorwills and Freight Trains' Bob Doerschuk,
special for USA TODAY Over the past few years many of country music's male stars
have hit the charts with songs that celebrate beer, girls and trucks. Pretty
much all of them focus on the moment, like snapshots taken at a wild party,
heated by bonfires and cooled by swimming holes. Trace Adkins knows that life
well. But on his new album, the 55-year-old superstar takes us to a quieter
place. Something's Going On is more about reflection that revelry. There's
plenty of romance in the title cut, heartbreak in If Only You Were Lonely 'and
redemption in the triumph of love over pain in Whippoorwills And Freight Trains
. But each tells its story with a depth that's rare in any kind of popular
music. 'Whether I wrote it or it's something one of my friends wrote for me,
these songs are about maturity,' he says from his Tennessee farm on a rare
day off from his 80-date concert tour. 'I've reached the age where I can't sing
a lot of those lyrics that the younger guys are singing. Nobody wants to
hear me sing about sitting on the tailgate with my girlfriend, because it's not
realistic. Some people did say to me, 'Come on, you can sing that stuff!
Well, I may be able to sing it, but I'm not going to because I don't feel good
about it. Sorry! Adkins chuckles, his voice a warm rumble. 'I love the lyric
on Watered Down ,' he continues, referring to his latest single. 'We still fly
like gypsies, just closer to the ground. We still love our whiskey but it's
just a little watered down. In other words, I'm still gonna go the party, but
I'm not be the guy that's swinging off the chandelier. Whether as a writer
or as an interpreter of someone else's lyric, Adkins brings the lessons of a
sometimes turbulent past into play. He's sold 11 million albums, acted in
high-profile films and earned $1.5 million for the American Red Cross as a
winner of All-Star Celebrity Apprentice . He's also been injured twice while
working on an oil rig, shot in the chest by a soon-to-be ex-wife and survived a
fire that destroyed his house six years ago. That's more highs and lows
than most of us could handle. For Adkins, though, it only enriches what he
achieves as an artist. More than most singers with similar ranges, he doesn't
use his low notes for pure effect ' at least not most of the time. The song
that he says most moves him on Something's Going On , 'Whippoorwills and Freight
Trains , is also the one whose' last note digs down to where few singers have
dug before. 'That's probably the lowest note I've ever sung,' he agrees.
'It's from Buck Owens because he told me once, 'Son, put that low note in every
song you record because it's what you've got going. But what's more important
to me is how much the lyrics mean. I was about halfway through recording the
master vocal when I just had to step away from the microphone. I looked at
Mickey (Jack Cones, producer) and said, 'You've got to give me a moment. This
song is killing me. After a second, Adkins adds, 'I'm really glad that a
song like that can still stop me in my tracks and tear me up. I guess that's
because I don't stress out anymore about a single coming out and becoming
a hit, because it's out of my hands. All I want to do now is make the best
records I can, trust everyone else will do their jobs ' and let it go. If you
are a mobile reader, check'out Whippoorwills and Freight Trains here .
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