Jackson wrote 15 of the new album’s 21 songs, with outside cuts by rising star Hailey Whitters and Jackson’s go-to producer since 1990’s Here in the Real World, Keith Stegall.
Six of the 21 recordings made the rounds online before the album release date . The most recent of these, “I Can Be That Something,” is a tale of broken hearts and dingy bars that’s yet another Jackson original that would’ve suited the catalog of George Jones.
Three new songs accompanied April 2’s album release news: a title track bemoaning the lack of country music on country radio, the sentimental “Things That Matter” and another timeless drinking song, “Way Down in My Whiskey.”
As Jackson fans have come to expect from the singer of “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” and “Home,” three noteworthy songs reflect his family life. “Where Her Heart Has Always Been” was written for the funeral of Jackson’s mother and includes an old recording of her reading the Bible. “You’ll Always Be My Baby” and “I Do” were written with the weddings of Jackson’s three daughters (the stars of the before-mentioned “Drive’s” music video) in mind.
Jackson climbed to the top of country music as part of Nashville’s Class of ’89. He’s since charted 66 singles, 35 of which reached No. 1.