The News-Gazette (Dec. 1st 2005)
Rubbing shoulders with heroes
Opening Saturday for Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton has his sights set on ‘what kind of artist I’ll be’
Maybe next time Blake Shelton will have time to go hunting or fishing with John Anderson. Anderson is among the guest musicians who will appear on Shelton's next album, which will probably be issued sometime next year. Others who make appearances are the legendary George Jones and the Bellamy Brothers.
All of them are musical heroes of Shelton, who opens at 8 p.m. Saturday at the University of Illinois Assembly Hall for Rascal Flatts. Keith Anderson is also on the bill.
"We've already got nine or 10 songs finished," says Shelton, from his farm near Centerville, Tenn. "We'll go back into the studio early next year and record some more songs, and then we'll pick the ones that we like the most for the new album.
"It will be a really cool album, I think, because I get some of my heroes to sing on it. It's a lot more fun to sit there and listen to them than it is for me to listen to me," he adds.
Shelton, whose breakout 2001 debut "Blake Shelton" included the hits "Austin," "All Over Me" and "Ol' Red," was already familiar with Jones and the Bellamy Brothers.
"Of the three, John Anderson was the most intimidating for me because he was the one I knew the least," Shelton says. "But as it turns out, he's the one who I probably have the most in common with. He's a big outdoors guy who loves to hunt and fish. We didn't have a chance to go hunting or fishing, even though we said we were going to. The schedules just didn't work out."
Shelton still has plenty of time for a little R&R. At 29, he has already established himself as one of Nashville's young stars. He has been busy spending most of the past year on the road, promoting his last album, "Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill." It's been a successful and well-reviewed record for Shelton, with most critics of a mind that he found his musical direction with album No. 3.
"I would agree with that. It's my third record ('The Dreamer,' No. 2, was issued in 2003), and I'm 29 and just now figuring out who I am as a person. Future records will reflect that," Shelton says. "With 'Barn and Grill,' I really took control as far as song selection goes. Not that I didn't have final say over the songs on the first two albums, but I was certainly open to suggestions by the producer.
"When we were making 'Barn and Grill,' the philosophy was, 'I know what I'm after here, so just let me find myself,' and that's what (the record company) did," he adds.
He has even toyed around with calling his yet-to-be-issued album, "Barn & Grill II," "because I definitely started out with that state of mind," he says. "The new album is different, the next stage in my career, but it definitely reflects the musical direction of 'Barn and Grill.'"
The new album will likely be issued next year - that's what his record company, Warner Bros., wants - but Shelton says "Barn & Grill" still has legs.
"I don't want to do something that would detract from it right now," he adds. "I think it still has life left in it."
Shelton, even though he's not yet 30, can be considered a country music veteran. He left his native Ada, Okla., right out of high school and at age 17 was able to get some of his songs published. He was able to turn his songwriting success into a recording contract. He married his longtime sweetheart in the fall of 2003.
"I'm starting to become an artist instead of the guy who can sing all kinds of songs," Shelton says in a news release. "I'm starting to see that and home in on that, and this album is an indication of what that is. I don't know, ultimately, what kind of artist I'll be, but at least I'm starting to see the road that I'm headed down."