“I got my boots, I got my hat… I’m bringing country back.”
With his first studio album in six years, Alan Jackson is back, and despite it being the longest layoff of his career, he hasn’t lost a step.
The 21-song project titled Where Have You Gone features 15 songs solely written by Jackson himself. With heartfelt country ballads like “You’ll Always Be My Baby” and “I Do,” (both written for his daughters’ weddings) and “Where Her Heart Has Always Been” (written for his late mom), Alan proves his can still write a song that cuts straight to the heart.
But then you hear songs like “Beer:10,” “Livin’ On Empty,” and “Back,” and you know he can still get those boots stompin’ with the best of them.
An immediate standout, one that harkens back to Alan Jackson from 1992, is “Back.” A full throttle, top tappin’ anthem hellbent on bringing real country back.
And the inspiration behind the new tune? None other than Justin Timberlake.
According to The Tennessean, Alan heard his daughters playing JT’s “Sexy Back” a few years ago and the rest is history:
“My kids, a few years ago, they said something about that old Justin Timberlake song ‘I’m Bringing Sexy Back.’
I teased ‘em one day and said, ‘Yeah, alright. I’m bringing country back.’ I wrote it as a joke for them and everybody liked it.”
Where Have I Gone is officially available everywhere today, and I for one, think it’s high time we bring a little country back to the mainstream.
You’re gonna want to turn this one up.
