Country music loves to sing about itself, sometimes spoofing it, i.e., David Allan Coe’s 1975 “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” and sometimes more seriously, like Barbara Mandrell’s 1981 “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” which hit #1 years before 31-year-old Thomas Rhett was even born, however, as far as he’s concerned, Country’s always been cool—modern and cleaned up—not like old school, hard core, traditional Country.
Last Friday, Rhett released “Country Again,” the lead song from his newest album, “Country Again Side A” –Side B drops later this year.
Recently named Academy of Country Music “Male Vocalist of The Year,” Rhett told thecountrydaily.com: “I think this song is about my life. Just slowing down and really trying to look at the priorities in my life and what they mean to me.”
I wouldn’t change the things I’ve done or the places that I’ve been
Man, it feels good to be Country again
(He had been recording in California, but now he’s back home in Tenn.)
Country radio obviously agrees that “Country Again” is cool, because more than 100 stations added it immediately, and, after just a few weeks, it’s charting in the Top 25.
What does the song sound like? Even though Rhett is nasal with a generic Southern accent, and the lyrics include the usual Country tropes: huntin’, fishin’, cowboy boots and Silverados, either the song isn’t half bad or I’ve gotten used to cleaned up, modern Country.