Lost Album from Earl Thomas Conley On The Way
Earl Thomas Conley passed away in April of 2019 at the age of 77, but we haven’t heard the last of him just yet. On Friday, September 25th, his final album called Promised Land: The Lost Album will be released. Consisting of twelve songs all written or co-written by Conley, the tracks were originally recorded as demos in the early and mid 90’s, but Conley never did anything else with them. Then in 2000 and 2001, he took the songs and recorded them in proper studio fashion, though they were never released.
“This collection of music was one of dad’s last endeavors of putting together an album,” says Conley’s youngest daughter, Erinn Scates. “Here you will find some of his most thoughtful lyrics and heartfelt mementos. Dad was a man who wore many hats. A painter, a craftsman, a sketch artist. But music, most of all, was his truest passion. To his loyal fans, thank you for loving him as much as we did. This last album is dedicated to you and the man who spent the last years of his life devoted to it.”
Produced by the late Nelson Larkin, and recorded in Nashville in multiple sessions at Omni Studios, Cartee Studios, Scruggs Studios, and Alpine Studios, Conley recorded the album after his sole independent release, 1998’s Perpetual Emotion, after recording seven records for RCA throughout the 80’s and into the early 90’s.
“This album is long overdue as Earl had always wanted to release just ‘one more album,’” says Carole Scates, Conley’s longtime significant other. “The sound and composition of these songs reflect the ’90s, the time period which they were originally written. Earl Thomas Conley was an artist in every sense of the word. His talent knew no bounds, and he will remain in our hearts for the rest of our days.”
One of the most successful country music artists through the 80’s decade—and known for his “thinking man’s country” style of country where heartbreak, story, and character played a critical role in creating the deep appeal for his music—Conley helped define country music in the 80’s when he charted more than 30 singles, including 20 that went #1 between 1981, and 1989.
But like so many older country legends, time passed Conley by. He lost his major label deal and not much was heard from him prior to his death, though many fans still cherished his music, and his legacy found a champion in Blake Shelton who regularly spoke about the singer and songwriter.
Promised Land: The Lost Album is now available for pre-order. New song “Better Said Than Done” can be heard below.
TRACK LIST:
1. Better Said Than Done (Earl Thomas Conley, Charlie Allen Bouton, Nelson Larkin)
2. Love’s the Only Voice (Earl Thomas Conley, Carole Scates)
3. Workin’ My Way Down (Earl Thomas Conley, Bob Corbin, Bat McGrath)
4. How Much Heartache (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
5. My Heart’s Just Her Old Stompin’ Ground (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
6. That’s What a Fool Deserves (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
7. Takin’ Me Away From the Promised Land (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
8. Those Clouds I’ve Been Walkin’ On (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
9. I Still Love the Girl (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
10. Your Love is Worth It All (Earl Thomas Conley, Nelson Larkin, Ron Reynolds)
11. Physical Attraction (Earl Thomas Conley, Wade Kirby, Randy Scruggs)
12. She Just Wants to Dance (Earl Thomas Conley, Ron Reynolds)
September 24, 2020 @ 8:36 am
This is some of the most unexpected yet best news of 2020! For those of us that wished we had experienced ETC while he was alive and actively recording and touring, this is the next best thing. Thank you for reporting it, Trigger!
September 24, 2020 @ 8:45 am
When are we getting a review for former Saving Country Music Song of the Year Winner Justin Wells’ The United State?
September 24, 2020 @ 1:50 pm
I appreciate the interest in a review of the new Justin Wells album. I assure you it is not being ignored. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right words to say about a record.
September 24, 2020 @ 5:26 pm
I feel that. I think that’s why I’m looking forward to what you have to say about it. I like the album but it’s slippery, hard to pin down.
September 24, 2020 @ 5:42 pm
Exactly. And every year there’s a few albums like this, and no matter how much I want to post a review about them, the words don’t come. Not saying that I won’t review it eventually. But it’s not because I think it’s bad, or I’m purposely excluding it. Just waiting for inspiration.
September 24, 2020 @ 9:44 am
My favourite male artist (together with Gary Allan).
Ordered the album & can’t wait to listen to all tracks.
September 24, 2020 @ 10:21 am
Darn, I was hoping the headline was referring to the Columbia House Record and Tape Club order I placed back in 1987 that never arrived, I’m pretty sure there were at least a couple of ETC tapes among my ten selections for a penny.
September 25, 2020 @ 8:00 am
Ha – good one. Maybe you would have gotten better results on ordering ETC if you had instead joined the RCA club. 😉
September 28, 2020 @ 8:08 am
They would have just substituted an old Dave Dudley record for the one they didn’t ship.
September 24, 2020 @ 10:28 am
A great vocalist and should be a future consideration for Hall of Fame.
September 24, 2020 @ 12:18 pm
“Better Said Than Done” reminds me of a Blackhawk song from the mid 90’s.
September 24, 2020 @ 3:54 pm
Often when I listen to the classic country station on TV, an Earl Thomas Conley song from the 80s comes up. I am always impressed by how consistently great his discography was, with wistful lyrics, warm melodies, and a smooth yet seasoned voice. Conley’s work truly represented everything that made country music great.
It doesn’t hurt that the mix of the classic country sound and the 80s soft rock sound that characterizes his music also hits all of my sweet spots…
September 24, 2020 @ 4:27 pm
Thank you old friend for leaving us one more album to listen to since you’ve gone. I hope and pray you are with Jesus!
September 24, 2020 @ 4:37 pm
It’s such a shame that guys like ETC, Dan Seals, RVS, and Vern Gosdin were left hung out to dry in the early 1990’s. It completely tarnished their legacy in the long run and as much as I love the Alan Jackson/Tracy Lawrence/Clint Black/Travis Tritt/Mark Chesnutt era of country music, something about the way the early 90’s transition period laid waste to so many careers never sat right with me. It’s very similar to the heavy metal-to-grunge transition of the same period.
September 24, 2020 @ 5:39 pm
Great observation. It really did change just like you described it. I think overall pop, rock, and rap all had that same kind of change happen around that time. And it’s not that the newer artists or their music was bad. In-fact a lot of it was really good but we definitely gained and lost at the same time.
September 24, 2020 @ 6:15 pm
Yep, pretty much all 70’s and 80’s veteran artists were gone from most playlists by 1992, except for the obvious survivors (Strait, Reba, Alabama, etc.). I always found it interesting, though, that from around early to mid 1991, there were still quite a few veterans like Don Williams, Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap, Vern Gosdin, The Oak Ridge Boys, and others getting a good amount of airplay alongside Clint, Garth, Alan, Joe Diffie, Mark Chesnutt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, etc. That certainly changed in the later part of 1991, though. It particularly never made sense to me why guys like Vern Gosdin, Gene Watson, and even George Jones were removed from playlists when that was actually a very traditional leaning time. Unless, of course, it was just simply that the younger artists were more popular and more marketable. Definitely an interesting time in country history, though! Also, I think I found out how a lot of the fans of those legends probably felt back then when most of my favorite 90’s country artists disappeared from radio around 2004-2005.
September 25, 2020 @ 11:28 am
I agree 100%. Spot-on observation. The “New Traditionalists” from the mid- to late-80s that paved the way for the resurgence of a more traditional sound were all-but-forgotten by the early 90s. Almost makes you wonder if country radio would have done the same thing to Keith Whitley had he lived?
September 24, 2020 @ 5:50 pm
Didn’t ETC have the most No.1 singles on 1 album, ever? Even the Beatles?
September 24, 2020 @ 6:56 pm
@okestone. No.
Rodney Crowell famously set a record with 5 #1 singles off his “Diamonds and Dirt” album in 1988. Those 5 were also the only #1–or even #2–hits that Rodney ever had. Now, he’s probably recognized more as and something of an “alt-country”/Americana singer-songwriter.
I don’t think even Rodney would mention his accomplishments in the same breath or sentence as the Beatles.
I believe Shania Twain broke Crowell’s #1 singles-off-of-one-album record, but I stopped paying attention to the country charts by then.
September 24, 2020 @ 8:35 pm
Well, I looked it up, and ETC had 4 – #1’s from “Don’t Make It Easy for Me” in 1983-84. So I guess he had the most for a few years.
September 25, 2020 @ 10:53 am
OK.
Buck, Merle, Conway and Charley Pride had stretches in the ’60s and ’70s where almost all their singles shot to #1, but in their heydays in that era, country artists used to issue several albums per year, so they’d never get to more than 3 singles off of one album
September 24, 2020 @ 6:34 pm
Really looking forward to this! Being a big fan of ETC, I was pretty saddened like the rest by his passing. This project sounds like something that’s gonna be right up my alley. I’m already enjoying “Better Said Than Done.”
September 24, 2020 @ 6:45 pm
The country chart had a very rapid turnover in the1970s and ’80s, with records going up and out in a matter of a dozen weeks and a new song topping the chart virtually every week, so core artists of that era had large numbers of hits in a short time.
Still, Earl Thomas Conley, scoring 18 #1 singles between 1981 and 1989 is pretty amazing, especially since he seemed to disappear without a trace, as fast as he came in.
Every other artist who put up those kinds of numbers in one decade–Conway, Haggard and Charley Pride in the ’70s; Alabama and George Strait in the ’80s had a career that spanned at least a couple of decades, is well-remembered to this day, and is, of course, a Hall-of-Famer.
Of course, all those other artists had a country sound. Conley was kind of M-O-R.
Conley’s name hardly comes up when there’s H-o-F talk. I’m not banging any drum for him, but I wouldn’t object if he were to get inducted.
September 25, 2020 @ 3:26 am
So far…Promised Land: The Lost Album is a “classic” Earl Thomas Conley album (listening to track 10 right now).
The early ’90s were a bloodbath. The stars of the ’70s & ’80s went from hero to zero from one album to the next & the labels dropped them faster than the speed of light.
The last ETC RCA Nashville album Yours Truly (1991) peaked on #53.
“Shadow Of A Doubt” (the first single) was a Top 10 hit & “Brotherly Love” (with Keith Whitley) went to #2.
The third single “Hard Days & Honky Tonk Nights” was his last Top 40 hit in 1992 & the fourth (& last single of Yours Truly) “If Only Your Eyes Could Lie” was his last chart entry & made #74.
After the Too Many Times album went to #3…The Heart Of It All was already a disappointment (#33 in 1988) while 4 of the 5 singles went to #1.
The Greatest Hits Volume II (1990) reached #35 & both singles failed to reach the Top 10. The second single “Who’s Gonna Tell Her Goodbye” was the first ETC single to peak outside of the Top 40 (#68).
As a fan i will play his music & i know there are more fans out there…& like so many other unique artists of the ’80s ETC deserves to be remembered…but it looks like the “80’s Ladies” & Gentlemen are not hip enough (so far).
September 25, 2020 @ 8:34 am
I’ll not be surprised if this project doesn’t get the hearts racing of many around here. ETC songs weren’t about trying to rock anyone’s boat; they were mostly character studies of everyday relationships. I saw mention in his obit articles that he often shared billings with Hank Jr.. If Jr. was a spoke in the wheel of ’80’s Country, ETC could very well be the opposite (and complementary) spoke. I wish I would’ve caught one of those shows.
I was a bit apprehensive about this project. But, sometimes expectations aren’t merely met, but exceeded. These songs won’t have the chart validation, but I think they stand tall within ETC’s work. The writing and singing measures up, and the styling fits with the best of his catalog. Everything fits. Kudos to everyone involved in delivering this album into our midst!
September 6, 2021 @ 2:12 pm
No matter where I am ETC comes on and I am at the HT dancing wit my boy. My midnite DJ mac at KFRD AM.
October 10, 2023 @ 7:32 am
I’ve been going through my ETC mp3 catalog and didn’t like how the volume is so loud on some songs and so low on others. So I went to Amazon to see about an all encompassing hits cd to buy. Unfortunately I couldn’t find just one album, I need to buy at least three, two of which I used to have. The good news is I found this ‘new’ album. Great to listen to news ETC. somehow this article was missed by me upon publication.