Clay Walker

There's more to the duality of Clay Walker's debut Show Dog Nashville album, “Texas To Tennessee”, than the title. Certainly, the realities of place are as central as this comeback album's name implies: Nashville busily working towards the next fresh hit; Texas moving at its inimitable and familiar pace. There's also a mix of songwriting and production approaches, evident and more nuanced relationships between the songs themselves, and the overarching presence of a naturally gifted vocalist who relentlessly pursues his own development as a singer. But don't mistake those dualities for dichotomy – and certainly not polarity. In a storied career dotted with smash singles, platinum albums, and countless honors and acclaim, maybe the connection between country's timeless themes and music-of-the-moment timeliness has been there all along.

Texas To Tennessee is also a modern album that nods at an earlier era in its time economy. Clocking in under 30 minutes in its entirety and with more than half its songs under three minutes, it recalls some of country's historical best in terms of uncluttered writing, directness of message, and finely shaved construction.

Walker is quick to point fingers. "Throughout my career, there have been key people who helped me put albums together, find or write good songs and get them out to fans," he says. "But I saw something with this album I've not experienced: what it takes to make a championship happen. The songs are your deep-threat wide receivers. The full support of your record label is the offensive line. Michael and Jaron – these guys ran through walls for me. Everyone has done their part and it's impressive. You can have talent, be famous or have a few hits, but you can't win the Super Bowl without champions around you. Man, I've got 'em."