Clint Black Signs with Thirty Tigers – Readies New Record “On Purpose”
There’s been a Clint Black sighting! And there’s been a Clint Black signing! And now one of the lost artists of country music’s famed “Class of ’89” is back in the saddle, and one of the most forward-thinking and upwardly-rising record labels in Nashville have landed arguably their biggest fish yet.
Announced (7-21), Clint Black is back in the record making business, partnering with the indie label Thirty Tigers to release an album sometime this fall. With 20 millions records sold and 22 #1 singles, Clint Black’s re-emergence in music after an extended hiatus comes at a time when many of his “Class of ’89” compadres are seeing resurgences in their careers as well, including the recently-unretired Garth Brooks, and Alan Jackson who just released a new record.
UPDATE (8-2-15): According to an Amazon pre-order listing, the new album will be called On Purpose, and will be released on September 24th.
“Thirty Tigers has an independent spirit,” said Black in a statement. “They believe in allowing artists the creative freedom to create music we can all be passionate about. What’s more, I value and appreciate that their focus lies squarely where it belongs on the music.”
“Thirty Tigers is a place that values not only great songwriters, but great performers,” Thirty Tigers President David Macias says. “Clint is one of the format’s best at both. I could not be more excited about this new album it’s long overdue and for Thirty Tigers to get the chance to work with an artist of Clint’s caliber, whose music I’ve loved for so long, is truly an honor.”
Clint Black’s career arc has been unusual to say the least. After his major success in the early 90’s, he took three years off after the birth of his daughter in May of 2001. It was great for his family life, but terrible for his career, and ever since then Clint has been the butt of disappearance jokes. His last official full length studio record was ten years ago when he released Drinkin’ Songs and Other Logic. He also released an EP in 2008 and a few compilations here and there.
The signing certainly gives an air of legitimacy to Thirty Tigers as an outfit that can contend with the mainstream. Black’s name had been thrown around as a possible candidate for Scott Borchetta’s NASH Icon label. Thirty Tigers also recently opened a radio division, which will allow them to contend with majors on that medium as well. Thirty Tigers is famous for letting artists own their own labels and music, and has launched names such as Stugill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Aaron Watson.
July 21, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
Wow! That’s great news. I was just listening to “Killin’ Time” yesterday. Most of your readers may not know it, but out of the gate, he was the biggest, most successful of the Class of 89 acts. Not Garth. Not Alan. Not Tritt. Black won all the awards at the CMAs and ACMs that first cycle and had all 5 singles go #1 off of “Killin’ Time.” None of those other guys could claim that!
“Unusual” is one way to describe his career path! For me, he fell off my radar when he married Lisa Hartman – lost his edge. Hopefully, he can rekindle that magic of his first few albums.
And great for Thirty Tigers. I was surprised 5 of my top albums of last year were from that “label.”
July 21, 2015 @ 7:21 pm
I make statements, then look up the facts. But, keep in mind, I was 13 in 89 so I remember things differently. Black won single, album, new male and the male vocalist at the ACMs in 89. He only won the Horizon award that year at the CMA,s, then male vocalist the following year.
The first 4 singles off “Killin’ Time” went #1, the 5th single ‘Nothing News’ topped out at #3.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:38 pm
‘I make statements, then look up the facts’
This should really be the tag line for the entire internet. 😉
July 22, 2015 @ 6:31 am
Not quite. Most of the internet just makes statements and leaves it at that. There isn’t any fact checking, much less admissions of incorrectness.
July 22, 2015 @ 1:33 pm
And generally they dig themselves in when someone says they’re wrong, haha.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:27 pm
i may be wrong about this but i think he preceded the others by at least 8 or 9 months. I remember clint burning up the airwaves long before i had even heard of garth, brooks n dunn, travis tritt or jackson. I remember Jacksons first hit, chasin that neon rainbow releasing about when aaron tippin came out with his first single, gotta stand for something, a solid year after clint had released his first hit, killin time
July 21, 2015 @ 7:34 pm
Black’s debut single ‘Better Man’ debuted on the charts in mid February 1989 then Garth’s ‘Much Too Old’ debuted at the end of March 1989 while Jackson’s debut single was actually ‘Blue Blooded Woman’ which debuted in October 1989 and flopped not even making the top 40 then came ‘Chasin That Neon Rainbow’ early in 1990. Not sure the dates on when the debut albums were released but Black and Brooks did have a head start on Jackson.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:51 pm
‘Here and the Real World’ and ‘Wanted’ both superseded ‘Chasin that Neon Rainbow.’
July 21, 2015 @ 7:58 pm
Damn It, Damn It! Son Of A Bitch!!!!
I took your statement too much to heart!
I actually looked up the Black and Brooks dates then just went off of memory for the Jackson information. You are correct it was near the end of 1990 when ‘Rainbow’ was released as a single and it was his fourth single.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:46 pm
That was a great era for country radio. You almost never heard a bad song played on the radio back then. Kinda wierd looking at its current state. Back then, I knew every artist played on the radio, every song, too. Now, I couldn’t name a single song or the artist that played it.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:01 pm
According to their Wiki pages, the following are the class of ’89 debut release dates:
Garth Brooks “Garth Brooks” – April 12, 1989
Clint Black “Killin’ Time” – May 2, 1988
Travis Tritt “Country Club” – February 20, 1990
Alan Jackson “Here in the Real World” – February 27, 1990
Brooks & Dunn didn’t debute till the end of 1991.
So, Garth was first out. Jackson’s debut was delayed by a failed first single (like Scotty pointed out).
July 21, 2015 @ 8:08 pm
Clint Black is May 2, 1989 (not 1988).
July 21, 2015 @ 8:39 pm
thanks for vetting this stuff. Like Scotty, I was going off of memory.
July 23, 2015 @ 4:08 pm
hey, there is a song from that era that I have been looking for for years. cant find the song name or artist anywhere, maybe you remember it. something about you never know how far you have come till you are back where you started from, standing on familiar ground. ring any bells?
July 22, 2015 @ 8:41 am
I just listened to that album a few days ago for the first time in a long time. I had forgotten how many hits were on it and how good it is from start to finish. I’m excited for the new album!
July 21, 2015 @ 7:06 pm
This is great news, ONLY if he leaves the shiny pants at home, and records a Country album.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:25 pm
The one thing we can be assured of is that working with Thirty Tigers, he will make the album he wants to make. He’s not going to have to compromise with label heads to satisfy contract clauses. Actually I think there’s a good chance the album is either done or mostly done already, and it was upon the strength of the material that this deal got done.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:05 pm
I hope your right, Trig. And I hope Nash turned it down cause it was too country for their brand.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:23 pm
Was NASH ever even on the table? That was a popular rumor given Clint’s career stagnation and window, but it was only ever a rumor as far as I know.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:06 pm
I never saw anything concrete about it. I think Borchetta is only interested in A-listers, and with Clint’s disappearing act, he may have been spooked. Or maybe Black didn’t want to mess with another major, who knows. We may get this info when the release date comes closer and Clint starts doing the usual round of interviews.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:28 pm
While NASH has given these veterans a great opportunity I haven’t been impressed with the direction they are taking them. While the McEntire album was OK the choice of single was so pathetic and pandering it really dropped my hopes and the new Dunn single is just OK to me. Seems like all they are doing is trying to pander to the same trends of the mainstream with just a smidgeon more respectability.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:32 pm
You’ll be pleased to know that Big & Rich are collaborating with him on at least one of the tracks on this upcoming venture 😛
July 21, 2015 @ 7:39 pm
That could be a bad sign.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:01 pm
Obviously you and I view these guys in very different lights, but one thing I can say without regard for bias is that they aren’t known for changing anyone’s style. As I mentioned to you a few articles ago, they collaborated with Billy Joe Shaver in 2006 at the height of their popularity on a re-recording of his classic song “Live Forever” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeJ4kp1AwY4). Same with their CMT Cross Country (or whatever it was) appearance with John Anderson around 2007. They played a whole setlist of both Anderson’s and B&R’s songs:
“Seminole Wind” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytldwr79W4
“Swingin'” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALqOjvXOUAk
“Holy Water” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbefg1h2_lo
“Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldwarVdJPN4
“Wild West Show” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYqohPO10Bw
“Lost In This Moment” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo9Cc2bpi00
“Money in the Bank” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2SuMMjpzvk
Same goes for when they appeared on wet-behind-the-ears artist Mary Sarah and her debut duets album Bridges on the track “My Great Escape” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IZzRjK3JSM). It’s worth noting they they were quite literally the ONLY modern and non-legend name on that album, one that included the likes of Dolly Parton, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Tanya Tucker, Ronnie Milsap, Lynn Anderson, Vince Gill, the Oak Ridge Boys and Freddy Powers.
I know you don’t like these guys and that’s your right, but don’t lump them in with the rest of the idiots around today. Big & Rich have two very distinct differences that set them apart: 1. they know what real country music is. 2. They blend genres because they have an honest love of all music, not because they’re trying to attract pop interlopers. They have an enormous respect for music in general, particularly country. They’re even known to play certain classic songs live like “Seven Spanish Angels” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EtBSg-gCPc). They also opened the tribute concert to George Jones when he died, and the Possum even appeared in John Rich’s solo song “Country Done Come to Town.”
One song you don’t like doesn’t suddenly mean everything these guys touch is garbage. Just like a single career move (or even a few) doesn’t suddenly mean everything that comes after that move is garbage, either (a la Clint Black). I understand that you quit following Clint before he released Drinkin’ Songs. What I’m trying to communicate is that you can always START following him again. That album is pure honky tonk and I think it might even make you forget the leather pants. Trust me. Listen to it and if you don’t like it I won’t ever say another word about this.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:50 pm
I hope you never get John Rich in a snowed in mountain cabin, man!! 😉
July 21, 2015 @ 8:56 pm
by the time these guys came out, i was already off country radio, but a friend turned me onto them. I bought their first album and enjoyed most of it. Then their second one, what a letdown. I thought it was as bad of a follow up as Kentucky Headhunters second album ( come to think of it, jalapeno reminded me of the equally terrible, big mexican dinner from khhs second album) but, they were original so I can dig it. I thought wild west show was a piece of art, stood above the rest of the album.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:08 pm
Scotty J: Ha! I just know my stuff about them. When I get into a certain artist, I REALLY get into them. I soak up everything I can with their name on it.
Banner: You and I have similar stories. While I wasn’t turned on to them by a friend, I myself had lost interest in country music at that time (and this was before I listened to anything but the radio). I saw the video for “Save a Horse” on CMT and was blown away by their style and how fresh it was at the time. Sure, it wasn’t traditional country, but I don’t like these guys because they’re country music, I like them because they’re extremely original. I personally enjoy their albums with something of an incline: Horse of a Different Color is a classic in my book, but I thought Comin’ to Your City was a worthy followup. They just hit the gimmick songs a little too hard with “The Freak Parade,” “Caught Up in the Moment,” “Jalapeño,” and “20 Margaritas.” T.F.P. and “Jalapeño” are stupid fun, and I can get into “20 Margaritas” if I’m in the right mood, but “Caught Up in the Moment” has never appealed to me at any time.
Of course, they also had some equally great songs there with “Leap of Faith,” “I Pray For You,” “Filthy Rich” and especially “8th of November,” which was the album’s highlight and worth the price of admission alone for my ears. I’m also a big fan of “Wild West Show” from their debut myself, though it’s not my personal favorite track from the album.
July 22, 2015 @ 6:57 am
#MuchLove to B&R, with a shoutout to @TwoFootFred, who is a local boy!
July 21, 2015 @ 8:05 pm
That’s disappointing.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:10 pm
Perhaps. See my response to Clint with all of the links and essay above for why they aren’t as bad as their reputation can imply.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:29 pm
I did watch a few of the John Anderson ones. John Rich doesn’t bug me that much. The other dude, he reminds me of one of those a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men you see in used car lots.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:37 pm
Well, Big Kenny’s voice and demeanor can be an acquired taste. He comes off as a little weird, but by all accounts he’s one of the gentlest and most loving souls around. He’s something of a modern day hippie, but he was raised on a farm and cut his teeth with a construction company before a friend told him that he sang pretty well, and decided to move to Nashville. He’s a country boy even if his looks betray that reality. Same with John Rich and his fur coats and bling rings.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:35 pm
Also, as I’ve told you before, Drinkin’ Songs & Other Logic was one of the countryest albums he’s EVER MADE. For pete’s sake, look it up if you’re going to judge the man’s career. That’s a much more recent statement than his attempts at crossover in the mid-’90s that you’re referring to.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:43 pm
AD,
I loved Clint Black when he was Country. He alienated me in the latter half of the 90’s.
I didn’t know about DSAOL when it was released, because I’d already stopped following his career at that point.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:05 pm
I understand that. What I’m saying is seek the album out and see if it doesn’t change your mind.
July 23, 2015 @ 1:17 am
Similar to Clint, I stopped following Clint Black when his sound started changing. I just listened to the songs from DSAOL that I could find on YouTube and I agree that they are excellent.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:45 pm
You’ve horribly missed out then. It was one of the best country albums of the 2000s.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:13 pm
Yep. If that one had been released a few years earlier on a bigger label with money to put behind promotion it would have been a big seller. As it sits, it’s a criminally overlooked gem.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
I am 32 years old, so I was too young to appreciate Clint Black in his heyday. But I now consider him to be among the two or three best country artists of the 90’s. His first three albums are masterpieces — straightforward, country prowess.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:25 pm
Exactly, though I count the fourth one, No Time to Kill, to be among that grouping of classics. He really lost steam with One Emotion in 1994. After that, his albums became inconsistent in aesthetic and quality, give or take a few instant classic tracks.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:37 pm
That’s good to know. I have not purchased his fourth album, so I’ll be excited to compare it to the first three. When it comes to 1989-1994, we were truly spoiled with high quality country music on the radio and on the charts. The only comparable period was 1968-1973, with Merle, Kris, Waylon, and early Dolly teaching us how country music is done.
July 22, 2015 @ 6:36 am
If you pick it up let me know what you think. That one has my favorite Clint song, “A Good Run of Bad Luck.” It’s not as strong as his first three, but still very good and overall above average I’d say. Even if I consider his career inconsistent, I’d still recommend picking up each of his albums. They all have gems, frequently in the form of tracks that weren’t released to radio. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that most of them can be had for pennies on the dollar these days if you buy physical product. Another one I’d recommend is his most recent album that Trigger mentions in the article, Drinkin’ Songs & Other Logic. One of the most criminally underrated and underexposed albums I’ve ever seen in any genre, period.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:31 pm
I wonder if the album will be titled, “Clint Back”? 🙂
July 21, 2015 @ 7:34 pm
Nah. It’ll be called I Do Exist. Too bad he cut “Killin’ Time” at the beginning of his career. That’s perhaps the most appropriate song to describe his recent activities.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
Of course a couple years after ‘Killin Time’ he had another hit called ‘No Time To Kill’ so time and what to do with it has been a conundrum for Mr. Black.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:07 pm
Yes, and he also had an album track called “Buying Time” on The Hard Way in 1992 and the album Spend My Time along with the title track in 2004. Time appears to be the overall theme or inside joke as it were of Clint’s career.
July 21, 2015 @ 7:40 pm
Been waiting to hear this news for years! I have to say, I’m kind of surprised/disappointed that he wasn’t signed to NASH Icons. If Garth couldn’t regain his radio prominence it’s not like someone as low key as Clint could, but it would have been nice to see what boost it would have given his career. After thinking about it, I assume that even if they offered him a deal he probably wasn’t interested in it. After all, he didn’t re-sign with RCA when that contract ran out in 2001, and as I’ve repeated ad nauseam, but he went on to found his own independent record label with Equity, which intended to set a new standard of letting artists retain more of their album sales proceeds. Given what Thirty Tigers stands for, it’s really not at all surprising that he settled for another independent label with a similar mission as opposed to going for a major (assuming that was even on the table).
There shall be no forgiveness if you miss THIS album, Trigger 😛
July 23, 2015 @ 6:30 pm
UPDATE: Clint talked to Rolling Stone Country and specifically stated that his new album would NOT be pandering to radio, and even subtly criticized the new trends on the format as “going backwards.” If you don’t just update the article or write a new one based on the slight protest, Trigger, you might throw this article up in the newsfeed.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/clint-black-preps-new-album-with-old-strategy-20150722
July 21, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
I used to really like Clint Black’s music.
And I still do … mostly, but it’s hard to get over the fact that he came across as a total jackass on Celebrity Apprentice … as opposed to John Rich, who was a class act (I know, surprising).
Nevertheless, this is definitely good news from a country music perspective.
July 23, 2015 @ 4:28 pm
Clint didn’t come off as a jackass at all to me. I think he handled his confronations with Dennis Rodman and Joan Rivers fairly well and was as a whole a polite, smart contestant. But his commercial was pretty crappy. I was still rooting for him though.
July 23, 2015 @ 4:28 pm
Also, I really hope they bring back “Celebrity Apprentice” with either Kevin O’Leary or Mark Cuban. That show is perfect.
July 21, 2015 @ 8:36 pm
Good I am looking forward for Clint’s new cd.
July 21, 2015 @ 9:16 pm
This just made my day! Not only was Clint Black a great act, he also was one of the few in his time to use his road band in the studio. Very much looking forward to hearing some music. Definitely a step in the right direction for Country music;
July 22, 2015 @ 1:24 am
if i don’t hear another Clint Black song for as long as i live, it’ll still be to soon. John Michael Montgomery too.
July 22, 2015 @ 9:31 pm
So you really don’t like Clint Black’s music? Why?
July 22, 2015 @ 5:29 am
Glad to hear of Clint’s return. Killing Time is a classic – very slick – but classic.
July 22, 2015 @ 6:22 am
Were Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart and Steve Earle part of that era as well, or were they a bit earlier?
July 22, 2015 @ 6:57 am
Major-label wise:
Dwight debuted early 1986
Marty debuted late 1985
Steve Earle 1983 (first single that year on Columbia or Epic records called ‘Nothin’ But You’, his first top 40 hit was in 86)
July 22, 2015 @ 3:54 pm
Earlier. Stuart and Earle were tooling around Nashville in the late 70’s, early 80’s as songwriters or supporting other acts. But by mid-80’s, they landed major deals after paying their dues.
I was 10 in ’86 and Earle and Yoakam’s music videos brought such a cool factor to a very conservative TNN. As a ten year old, I recognized it. I still remember the first time I saw the music videos for Guitar Town and Guitars, Cadillacs (cause I wasn’t hearing them on radio), it was rock elements mixing into what was a rather pop-influenced, urban cowboy era in country music. Randy Travis was hitting the scene at the same time. But, he was the buttoned-up, pretty poster child to country music. Yoakam and Earle were so counter culture at the time,
July 23, 2015 @ 5:51 am
I’ve been reading this site for a while now, but never post. I’m someone who’s always enjoyed Country Music, but certainly doesn’t have the level of knowledge of most of the crowd here. I just was so interested in your comment.
I was born in 1982, so I don’t really have reliable memories of 80s country. But I do know that my dad would take me to honky tonk bars in the 90s, and that I would spend countless hours riding around in his old Jeep listening to whatever music he was playing, and Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam just MOVED me. I liked most of the music (it was country in the 90s, so as mentioned above, it was mostly pretty good.) But man, Guitar Town is my number one favorite song to this day. And when Fast as You or some other Dwight Yoakam song played/plays, I just feel that stuff in my bones.
So I really was enlightened by your comment mentioning the two together and that they were something sort of special at the time. I can’t wait to look up those old videos, I hope I can find them on youtube or something.
That was kind of a pointless comment, lol. I just love that music so much. I recently found my Essential Steve Earle CD that I had misplaced, and listening to The Rain Came Down, I was honestly near tears at just how good that stuff is and how much I love it.
July 22, 2015 @ 6:29 am
HEY EVERYONE!
Remember that article Trigg wrote about Jonathan Davis going country?
Well you never believe who else is in on it:
http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/music/news/2015/7/marilyn-manson-and-korns-jonathan-davis-to-do-country-influenced-album/
July 22, 2015 @ 7:37 am
“HEY EVERYONE!
Remember that article Trigg wrote about Jonathan Davis going country?
Well you never believe who else is in on it:”
Could it be worse than Sam Hunt , Aldean or the Kruise Kids ?
July 22, 2015 @ 2:41 pm
Yup. I am pretty sure it can be worse.
July 22, 2015 @ 6:30 am
Good to see this….he was my favorite from the “Class of ’89” and Killin’ Time is in my top 10 of all-time favorite country albums. You couldn’t turn on country radio in 1990 and NOT hear Clint Black.
He and Mark Chesnutt were, and still are, my favorites from that era.
July 22, 2015 @ 6:43 am
Speaking of Chesnutt. What the hell ruined his career anyway? Maybe Trigg can enlighten. He had some very good songs and has released some decent albums in 2ks. I think the crossover crap and heavy covers killed it, but I would like to know Trigg’s take on it.
July 22, 2015 @ 7:27 am
Love Mark Chesnutt, but he does have a thing for covers. I went and saw him in concert and it was a great show, but I swear he played a whole 30 minute stretch it seemed like of covers. I love Haggard and Willie, but I’m not going to a Mark Chesnutt show to hear him sing Haggard and Willie songs. He left out a few of his best songs in my opinion and I would not have been so disappointed by this if he had not wasted so many songs in his set on covers.
July 22, 2015 @ 8:32 am
I don’t know man, I think these guys have a good run, and when everything started to go south, they bowed out as opposed to continuing to play the game. I think we’ll hear from Chesnutt again, just like we’re hearing from Clint Black now.
July 22, 2015 @ 11:42 am
Chesnutt has said repeatedly on his Facebook page that he’s working on a new album. He also released a new “hits” album earlier this month that’s mainly material from the last 10 years.
July 24, 2015 @ 11:08 am
Chesnutt was a great singer but he was never a writer. He had a good run, but went out of style. Same as Tracy Lawrence, Sammy Kershaw, Joe Diffie and other contemporaries. I suspect that getting fat and out of shape also hurt some of those guys’ careers. The ones who managed to last–McGraw, Jackson, Toby, Chesney, Trace Adkins–all managed to maintain their looks when they aged.
July 22, 2015 @ 3:36 pm
Chesnutt was mounting a comeback in the outlaw arena, but didn’t he get into some legal trouble – assaulted his son?
July 22, 2015 @ 7:15 am
This has the potential to be a truly great development. Interestingly, I was just listening to “Nothing’s News” from Killin Time last night to help myself fall asleep after a long trip. That combination of emotionally deep lyrics, world-class textured vocals, and the heavenly steel guitar solo truly represents country music at its finest.
July 22, 2015 @ 10:18 am
Man, I was just about to leave a comment about how awesome and underrated that song is. It is certainly in my top 10 all time best country tracks. If I was broke down and went to a local watering hole, that is the song, or at least the kind of music, I would want to be hearing.
July 22, 2015 @ 8:36 am
By the way, Trigger, I think that this might serve as a good opportunity to review “Killin Time”. I truly believe that it’s one of the greatest country albums of all time. Almost every song is meaningful, and there are almost no fillers.
July 22, 2015 @ 3:32 pm
I second that! That is, if Trig can stay of the police scanner long enough to listen to the album. I kid cause I love you, Trig!
July 22, 2015 @ 7:49 pm
Well, looks like our ship just came in!
July 22, 2015 @ 9:37 pm
Well if nothing this reminded me I ought to be listening to Clint Black more. Forgot about him. Great sound and less flashy and over done than Garth for my taste. Of course right now “Dust On The Bottle” comes on my player LOL! There was a flash in the pan artist. Where’d David Lee Murphy go?
The Hodgepodge: Is Country Music at the Point of No Return? | Country Perspective
July 23, 2015 @ 8:01 am
[…] Clint Black, member of the country class of ’89, has signed with indie label Thirty Tigers. […]
July 23, 2015 @ 1:22 pm
Sounds good to me! His first four albums have always remained somewhere in rotation in my house.
July 23, 2015 @ 6:20 pm
The worst thing that could happen would be for Clint Black to make the record he wants. His first album was absolutely great and then it was all down hill after he got more power and say in the process. Hayden Nichols was the secret songwriting weapon on all of those great songs and the production was credited mostly to James Stroud but it was actually the great Mark Wright who was also A&R that tracked the record. Clint was responsible for consistently moving away from the first albums traditional sound and trying to write everything himself. The smart thing to do would be put him with some great country songwriters and get Mark Wright to cut an outstanding country album. Mark also was the producer on the Mark Chestnut albums.
The acts like Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, The O’Kanes, and Foster & Loyd are now known in Nashville as “The Great Integrity Scare of the 1980’s”!
July 23, 2015 @ 8:35 pm
Clint had a hand in writing every song on Drinkin’ Songs and Other Logic as well as producing it himself and the result was a traditional album that was one of the best of the 2000s, so the facts don’t really line up with your comments.
July 23, 2015 @ 9:36 pm
Any country music critic will agree that Clint Black never touched the heights of the “Killin’ Time” album. Also, you didn’t state any facts… just your opinion. And that’s okay too. But I still think you don’t know shit! 🙂
July 23, 2015 @ 10:05 pm
How is Andrew’s assertion that Clint co-wrote and produced the entirety of Drinkin’ Songs & Other Logic not “facts”? Have you even heard that album? It might be up for debate whether or not it’s “one of the best of the 2000s” as he says, but not that it was true blue country. He never said it was better than Killin’ Time, he said it was just a great album. How does any of that equate to him “not knowing shit”? Just because he doesn’t agree with you and cites the actual music as a reference instead of just his opinion like you do? Good grief.
July 23, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
I was just poking… but in my opinion, Clint had some heavy hitters helping out on his first album and he’s never even come close. Calling “Drinkin’ Songs” one of the best of the 2000’s is definitely an opinion and not fact. And pointing out that Clint had a heavy hand in it kind of proves my point he needs some help. The guy would’ve made better music had his ego not gotten out of hand.
July 23, 2015 @ 10:29 pm
I don’t think anyone’s debating that Killin’ Time is Clint’s best album. But “never even come close”? His first three followups, Put Yourself in My Shoes, The Hard Way, No Time to Kill, are all solid country gold. Good as his debut? Debatable. Not even close? Not hardly. They’re a lot closer in quality to Killin’ Time than that assessment is in terms of accuracy.
July 23, 2015 @ 7:39 pm
I never understood why it seems so difficult or like such a big deal for Clint Black to put out an album of new material. Marty Stuart is able to put out a new one every year.
My expectations for this are low, so hopefully I’ll be positively surprised.
July 23, 2015 @ 10:12 pm
His contract with RCA expired in 2001. He took three years off to be with his family before starting his own label, Equity, to handle his future musical endeavors. He then released 2004’s Spend My Time as well as a reissue of his 1995 Christmas album Looking For Christmas (this time as Christmas With You) with two new tracks. In 2005, he recorded Drinkin’ Songs & Other Logic. In 2007, he re-recorded 11 of his most popular ballads and one new track for a compilation called The Love Songs, the re-recordings of which were later included on a 2013 compilation from Cracker Barrel called When I Said I Do with three exclusive tracks not found on the former. In 2008 he issued The Long Cool EP, which featured three new tracks, four if you happened to buy it from iTunes, that were slated to be a preview of an upcoming album from his label that year that never materialized. The financial crisis of 2008 effectively killed his label and it shut its doors as a result, with his EP pulled from online retailers as a result (not sure why, though, given that the other albums are still there).
He’s intermittently talked about a new album in the years since, such as in 2012 (http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/473861/clint-black-is-back-readies-first-new-album-in-7-years) that also never materialized, perhaps because he couldn’t find the right record deal. So, he’s not been as inactive as it seems on the surface, his studio output had simply slowed for understandable reasons. He’s been touring fairly consistently for the past few years as well.
July 24, 2015 @ 10:55 am
The idea that a prominent artist should stop putting out new material because he can’t find the right record deal is nuts. Black and Travis Tritt seem to have blown their middle-aged careers on that. I’m sure Marty Stuart–and Billy Joe Shaver and Dale Watson and Robert Earl Keen and Rodney Crowell, etc. have had problems with record labels, but they’ve always managed to find one that will release their music.
July 26, 2015 @ 10:56 am
More artists that need to make new music: Restless Heart, ETC, John Conlee, Ronnie Milsap, etc. I miss those guys too and I never see their names on this site. I also wish Alabama would put out a new album with the tones of their earlier stuff. I saw them last year, but unfortunately, they seem to “phone it in” live nowadays. They double the speed through the songs (which I hate!) and kinda look disinterested. I saw them twice in the 90’s and they were unbelievably fantastic. Restless Heart was SUPERB last year and they sound just as terrific.
I’m a huge, long-time fan of this site and this is my first reply. Keep up the good work Trigger.
July 26, 2015 @ 12:24 pm
Regarding Alabama, I saw them live once in the early 2000s and I agree with your assessment. The opening act (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) was, as expected, fantastic, but I was disappointed in Alabama’s performance as they appeared to be just going through the motions.
July 28, 2015 @ 11:58 am
I’m definitely in the minority here, but I enjoy Clint Black’s later work as well as his earlier, although it is indeed less traditional. D’lectrified, although quite a blues-y album, is one of my personal favorites.