Chris Stapleton Announces New Album & Song “Starting Over”
As those of us on the independent side of the country music world were laser focused on this Friday’s insane lineup of new releases, Chris Stapleton announced the long-anticipated release of his new album called Starting Over, and debuted the title track (listen below). The record will be released by Mercury Nashville on November 13th, and once again will be produced by Dave Cobb. It was recorded at Studio ‘A’ in Nashville, with additional recording work done at Muscle Shoals Sound and Compass Sound Studio.
The new record will include 14 new songs, 11 of which Stapleton wrote or co-wrote himself, along with a few notable covers, specifically John Fogerty’s “Joy of My Life,” and two covers of Guy Clark songs—“Worry B Gone” and “Old Friends.” Also interesting to note from the track list is that two songs Stapleton had been regularly featuring in concert lately don’t make the cut—namely one called “Bad Side of The Blood,” and a bluesy song called “Minimum Wage” co-written with Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame.
However Mike Campbell did make the list of special guest musicians appearing on the record, as did fellow Heartbreaker Benmont Tench on Hammond B3 organ, along steel guitar legend Paul Franklin, and the “All Voices Choir” appearing on the song “Watch You Burn,” which was the backdrop for the recorded recent teaser video. They will join the core of Stapleton’s recording and touring crew of J.T. Cure on bass, Derek Mixon on drums, and Morgane Stapleton on background vocals and tambourine.
The title track to Starting Over co-written with Mike Henderson has also been sent to country radio as a single. A bit mild-mannered and mid tempo, it’s centered around folkish acoustic guitar strums and a story about pulling up stakes to start life anew. We’ll have to see how excited radio gets about it, as well as the public who continue to buy and stream Stapleton’s 2015 record Traveller to the tune of making it a perennial Top 10 in the albums charts, even as his more recent records From ‘A’ Room Vol. 1 & 2 lag behind.
Starting Over is now available for pre-order.
Starting Over Track List:
1. “Starting Over” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Henderson)
2. “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice” (Chris Stapleton & Al Anderson)
3. “Cold” (Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure & Derek Mixon)
4. “When I’m With You” (Chris Stapleton)
5. “Arkansas” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Campbell)
6. “Joy of My Life” (John Fogerty)
7. “Hillbilly Blood” (Chris Stapleton)
8. “Maggie’s Song” (Chris Stapleton)
9. “Whiskey Sunrise” (Chris Stapleton & Tim Krekel)
10. “Worry B Gone” (Guy Clark, Gary Nicholson & Lee Roy Parnell)
11. “Old Friends” (Guy Clark, Richard Dobson & Susanna Clark)
12. “Watch You Burn” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Campbell)
13. “You Should Probably Leave” (Chris Stapleton, Ashley Gorley & Chris DuBois)
14. “Nashville, TN” (Chris Stapleton & Morgane Stapleton)
August 29, 2020 @ 11:03 am
Very intrigued by what this album is gonna shake out to be. Especially with the title of “Starting Over” and the bare-bones cover art.
And this ain’t the first time Stapleton has played songs live in the lead-up to an album and then those songs not show up on said album. I remember seeing him live before the two From A Rooms came out and he played a song called Tipsy that still hasn’t surfaced. Makes me hope he’s squirrelling away original songs for a future live album (I can dream, can’t I?)
August 29, 2020 @ 11:21 am
Even though its nothing special, i do like the song, and think it bodes well for a quality album. Hoping there are some tunes that have some of that edge he has been missing since the Steeldrivers days.
August 29, 2020 @ 11:31 am
I fear those glory days of Steeldrivers type songs are in the rear view mirror, never to return. Ive been in denial on this point but if this sample is a sign, its gonna be from A Room vol 3, rinse and repeat. Bummer…
August 29, 2020 @ 11:41 am
Does “Maggie’s Song” include a sampling of “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart and “Margie’s Song” by Doug Heffernan (from The King Of Queens) ???
August 29, 2020 @ 5:02 pm
Hopefully you’ll need to wait for Kane Brown’s “Maggie’s Song” for that pleasure.
August 29, 2020 @ 6:28 pm
Maggie’s Song is about losing a dog. I lost my Maggie in February. I’m staying clear of that song!
September 3, 2020 @ 6:49 am
He probably samples “Maggie’s Farm,” though.
August 29, 2020 @ 11:41 am
I’m surprised that “Minimum Wage” may not be on here especially since Mike Campbell co-wrote this song with him and Mike appears on many songs on here. Nevertheless, “Get Down to Arkansas” and “Hillbilly Blood” (which might be a new name of “Bad Side of the Blood”) makes me excited to listen to this album when it comes out.
August 29, 2020 @ 12:59 pm
You might be right about “Hillbilly Blood” being “Bad Side of the Blood,” though I think Stapleton had introduced the song as “Bad Side of the Blood” before. We’ll see. I kind of do expect some Mike Campbell co-writes to make it on this album, even if “Minimum Wage” didn’t. We do not have a full run down of the songwriters just yet.
August 29, 2020 @ 1:25 pm
I found the following posted on a message board, and have no reason to doubt it:
1. “Starting Over” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Henderson)
2. “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice” (Chris Stapleton & Al Anderson)
3. “Cold” (Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure & Derek Mixon)
4. “When I’m With You” (Chris Stapleton)
5. “Arkansas” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Campbell)
6. “Joy of My Life” (John Fogerty)
7. “Hillbilly Blood” (Chris Stapleton)
8. “Maggie’s Song” (Chris Stapleton)
9. “Whiskey Sunrise” (Chris Stapleton & Tim Krekel)
10. “Worry B Gone” (Guy Clark, Gary Nicholson & Lee Roy Parnell)
11. “Old Friends” (Guy Clark, Richard Dobson & Susanna Clark)
12. “Watch You Burn” (Chris Stapleton & Mike Campbell)
13. “You Should Probably Leave” (Chris Stapleton, Ashley Gorley & Chris DuBois)
14. “Nashville, TN” (Chris Stapleton & Morgane Stapleton)
Chris also has a feature on Mike Campbell’s November 20th album.
August 29, 2020 @ 11:48 am
In The Pipeline too:
Albums:
Carolina Story – Dandelion – Album – 09/04
Casper McWade – Unraveled – Album – 09/04
Terry McBride – Rebels & Angels – Album – 10/23
Wade Skinner – Through The Fire – Album – 09/02
Justin Moore – Live At The Ryman – Album – 09/25
Caitlyn Shadbolt – Stages – Album – 11/09 (Australia)
Ashley Campbell – Something Lovely – Album – 10/09
Melody Moko – Two Kids & A Radio – Album – 09/11 (Australia)
Smith & Wesley – Greetings From The Land Of Y’all – Album – 09/18
Clint Wilson – Another Death In The Family – Album – 09/11 (Australia)
Elvis Presley – From Elvis In Nashville – Four Album Box (74 Tracks) – 11/20
Townes Van Zandt – Somebody Had To Write It – Acoustic Live Album – 10/09
Angus Gill & Seasons Of Change – 3 Minute Movie – Album – 09/25 (Australia)
Waylon Payne – Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me – Album – 09/11
&
Pee Wee King – The Pee Wee King Collection 1946-58 – Three Album Box (83 Tracks) – 10/09
EPs:
Miller Campbell – Miller – 09/15
Shane Martin – Anywhere – 09/01
Matt Woods – Mornings After – 09/04
Braxton Keith – Neon Dreams – 09/04
Wynonna (Judd) – Recollections – 10/30
Gareth Leach – Trigger – 09/04 (Australia)
Granville Automatic – Tiny Televisions – 09/11
Granger Smith – Country Things Vol.1 – 09/25
Andrew Farriss – Love Makes The World – 10/02 (Australia)
Singles/Tracks (All Released):
The Shires – “Crazy Days” (Edit)
Billy Bridge – I’ll Be Fine” (Australia)
Jamie Richards – “I Want To With You”
Clint Wilson – “Family Tree” (Australia)
Granville Automatic – “Tiny Televisions”
Steve Cheers – “I Get It Now” (Australia)
Hayden Haddock – “Where You Come In”
Donna Fisk – “Shoulder At The Wheel” (Australia)
Andrew Farriss – “All The Stars Are Mine” (Australia)
The Sky Valley Band – “Maybe The Moon” (Australia)
&
Brooke Lambert – Two Thousand & Seventeen (2 Track Single “After All” / “Outta My Head”) (Australia)
August 29, 2020 @ 12:15 pm
BTW…
Steve Earle is featured on the new Angus Gill album (“The New Old Me”)
Gretta Ziller is featured on the new Clint Wilson album (“High School Sweethearts”)
&
on the Terry McBride album Patty Loveless & Delbert McClinton are featured
+
Hayley Marsten released a new single “Pretty” too (Australia).
August 29, 2020 @ 2:26 pm
Also keep an ear open for Big Cedar Fever September 4th and The Merles September 22nd. I’ve seen both of these acts a few times.
August 29, 2020 @ 2:40 pm
Oops…
…must google Big Ceder Fever & forgot the Merles.
August 30, 2020 @ 6:12 pm
OlaR,
Is there a reason why you always provide these lists everytime Trigger posts a new album review? Not complaining, just curious.
August 29, 2020 @ 2:51 pm
While we’re at it. Tennesse Jet’s new album, “The Country” is being released on the 4th as well. I hope is on your radar Trigger.
August 30, 2020 @ 4:23 pm
New William Elliott Whitmore song being released tomorrow
August 29, 2020 @ 1:25 pm
I’m just relieved we have at least one Whiskey song here. Just wouldn’t have felt right without one.
August 29, 2020 @ 1:31 pm
Not a hater of the guy at all, and sure, he’s had a net positive effect on radio and stuff like that. But……hopefully this song isn’t any indication of the quality of the album.
August 29, 2020 @ 1:51 pm
I love how Jake Cutter’s most positive comment he’s ever posted on here still manages to be negative lol.
August 29, 2020 @ 2:10 pm
I thought my comment on the article before this was glowingly positive. It’s not like I’m Honky.
You like this song?
August 29, 2020 @ 3:42 pm
#FreeHonky
August 29, 2020 @ 4:18 pm
It’s a solid Stapleton cut, not trying to be anything else, and I appreciate that.
Just joshing a bit. There’s comfort in predictability – be it a Chris Stapleton song or a Jake Cutter comment.
August 29, 2020 @ 7:23 pm
The song is straight BS.
I enjoyed his Toy Story song better
August 30, 2020 @ 8:07 am
Hey Arnold I thought that song was good too, and I thought ‘Our Song” that Willie cut was great. Hopefully there’s more of that to come.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:36 pm
The melody in this song is simply beautiful. If tomorrow all songs on country radio were replaced with just that guitar pattern playing on repeat, it would represent an enormous improvement.
August 29, 2020 @ 2:33 pm
You still read Jake’s comments? I started filtering them out months ago. The ratio of words to meaningful information just didn’t make the cut
August 29, 2020 @ 2:56 pm
Useful.
August 29, 2020 @ 9:46 pm
really looking foward to this album. love the song as well.
August 29, 2020 @ 10:04 pm
Hailey Whitters sings the devil always made me think twice on her recent album. Love her version I can’t wait for chris’s version 🙂
August 31, 2020 @ 4:34 am
Chris is a great songwriter and an amazing singer. I’ve enjoyed some shows watching him and the wifey jam. But his music is mostly just neighborhood cookout background music for me personally. That’s not a knock but I feel like his discography is just one continuous stream of the same album. Maybe he will surprise me tho. Again, not hatin’ just sayin’.
August 31, 2020 @ 9:32 am
I agree with Big Cat. This new song is a little boring. He is missing the energy from “Traveler.” This sounds like continuation of Room A. I like Chris and want this album to be Traveler 2.0 not Room A vol. 3.
August 31, 2020 @ 5:45 am
This guy was like a tsunami in the country music world and i personally believe he still has some gas in the tank…this new song is ok..let’s see how it works in the album context.
August 31, 2020 @ 7:48 am
I dig the new song. Looking forward to the new record, though there aren’t many things in this world I hate as much as a cover of a Guy Clark song (and I am a big Guy Clark fan — just have never heard a cover of one of his songs that I like).
September 3, 2020 @ 6:54 am
I actually prefer Jerry Jeff’s version of L.A. Freeway and Old Time Feeling. To be fair, though, I heard those before I heard Guy’s versions. And though I don’t necessarily prefer it, Jamie Lin Wilson and Jack Ingram do a good cover of Instant Coffee Blues.
August 31, 2020 @ 9:22 am
Interesting addition of Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench to his touring band.
Who doesn’t want Mike Campbell on lead guitar in their band?
August 31, 2020 @ 9:39 am
Not sure if they’ve been added to his touring band. They were added to his touring band as guests in these recording sessions.
August 31, 2020 @ 1:40 pm
Mike Campbell was in Fleetwood Mac for their last tour and he was a fantastic addition.
August 31, 2020 @ 9:42 am
Ah ok, thanks.
September 2, 2020 @ 5:04 pm
It makes sense now and follows a pattern. New album coming out so say something controversial to create press. I really thought he was someone beyond that stuff. Fame is the game. It’s a drug. David Bowie nailed it long long ago.
September 2, 2020 @ 10:31 pm
“Starting Over” may be one of Chris Stapleton’s best songs from the perspective of melody. The instrumentation could be spiced up a bit (perhaps by adding some steel), but this song seems like a very hopeful sign that Chris is heading more deeply into traditional country instead of country-rock.