Randy Travis' path to the Country Music Hall of Fame was first paved by Warner Bros. Records' June 2, 1986 release of his debut album, Storms of Life. To commemorate the album's 35th anniversary, Travis' team announced a reissue project which pairs the remastered studio album with three previously-unreleased songs.
Travis' roots-grounded sound set the stage for the coming careers of Alan Jackson and others who'd further challenge Nashville's "soft shell" status quo.
"I love the timeless lyrics and the traditional country instruments, like steel guitar, banjo, piano, fiddle," Travis said, when asked about the pivotal album, adding, "it was music I believed in, that told a story I wanted to share. We were fortunate to have a large catalog of songs to choose from that were more traditional. At the time, people and radio really weren't playing this kind of music. Most people were recording more of an Urban Cowboy sound, so I got to choose from the best of the best, cream of the crop. It was exciting for all of us to get back to our roots."
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Travis' debut didn't just dismiss the notion that throwback country songs were out of style in the mid-'80s. It swiftly shook up the charts with No. 1 hits "Diggin' Up Bones" and "On the Other Hand."
Storms of Life helped Travis win the CMA's Horizon Award as well as ACM hardware for Top New Male Vocalist, Top Male Vocalist, Album of the Year and Single of the Year ("On the Other Hand").
The 35th anniversary reissue hits shelves and streaming services on Sept. 24 via Warner Music Nashville. Pre-orders begin on Aug. 27.
Storms of Life (35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) Track Listing:
1. "On The Other Hand" (Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz)
2. "The Storms of Life" (Max D. Barnes, Troy Seals)
3. "My Heart Cracked (But It Did Not Break)" (Ronny Scaife, Don Singleton, Phil Thomas)
4. "Diggin' Up Bones" (Al Gore, Paul Overstreet, Nat Stuckey)
5. "No Place Like Home" (Paul Overstreet)
6. "1982" (Buddy Blackmon, Vip Vipperman)
7. "Send My Body" (Randy Travis)
8. "Messin' With My Mind" (Joseph Allen, Charlie Williams)
9. "Reasons I Cheat" (Randy Travis)
10. "There'll Always Be A Honky Tonk Somewhere" (Steve Clark, Johnny MacRae)
- Unreleased Tracks -
"Ain't No Use"
"Carryin' Fire"
"The Wall"
(All tracks produced by Kyle Lehning, except "On The Other Hand" and "Reasons I Cheat" produced by Lehning and Keith Stegall.)
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