Last month, Dierks Bentley announced his 10th studio album, Gravel And Gold, was coming our way soon.
He also made some pretty bold claims along with the announcement as well, saying it was the best of his career:
“It’s been a long road. A 20-year journey filled with highs and lows, twists and turns. My love for country music, that’s what’s always kept me going. Town to town, show to show, small clubs to packed arenas.
I worked hard, I took chances, went for things. The journey isn’t where I’ve been, it’s the thing I’ve carried with me into my 10th album. I wrote, I recorded. It wasn’t good enough. I threw it out and started over — twice. I had to get it right, for the fans, for me.
It had to be the best country music I ever made. Everyone showed up, my heroes and my friends. We did it together. It’s the love, the lessons, the gravel and gold.”
On the way to the release, Bentley dropped a number of impressive singles, like the Billy Strings feature, “High Note,” “Same Ol’ Me,” and “Cowboy Boots” featuring Ashley McBryde.
The album officially dropped yesterday, and I’ll admit, it’s up there near the top as one of my favorite bodies of work from the country music mainstay. I’ve only had one listen through so it remains to be seen if it’ll stand the test of time, but first impression… legit.
Here are a few of my favorites:
“Sun Sets In Colorado”
“Still”
“Old Pickup”
“High Note” featuring Billy Strings
