Keith Urban has always been an artist willing to take chances musically, to leave room in the recording studio for creative spontaneity that allows songs to go in unexpected directions and take on dimensions he didn’t anticipate.
As such, Urban’s albums have generally included at least a song or two that ventured beyond his signature rock-and-pop-inflected country sound or incorporated production approaches that veered from the norm of mainstream country music.
But as Urban turned his attention to making his follow-up to “The Speed of Now Part 1,” he wondered if he should rein in his tendency to go off script in the studio. So, he purposely sought to create a more structured environment with the recording sessions.
Urban, who plays Ameris Bank Amphitheatre on Friday, May 23, followed his plan and recorded all of the songs for the album, which he planned to name “615” after the area code for Nashville, where the album was recorded. That’s when something happened that Urban had never experienced before. With all the songs finished and ready for sequencing, Urban didn’t like what he heard, and he scrapped the album.
Credit: (Courtesy of PFA Media)
Credit: (Courtesy of PFA Media)
“I think subconsciously I was wondering if sometimes my albums feel a bit scattershot and hard to define what they are,” Urban said. “And I thought, ‘Well, maybe I need to have more focus and definition for a specific kind of sound and a certain kind of song.’ And so I started recording those kinds of sounds and songs, and I didn’t really, it didn’t allow for as much spontaneity as I’ve done on every other record — and exploration. The result was something a little bit too linear for me.”
Urban reluctantly set aside the album, but he now realized he had been doing the right thing all along by allowing for spontaneity in the studio. And he set about making an album that felt right. “The very first song we wrote after that was ‘Chuck Taylors,’” Urban said. “It’s probably not coincidental why that song is so buoyant and high energy because I felt liberated after the ‘615’ experience. I’m like, ‘OK, well I’ve confirmed how I don’t want to make records, and I’d rather do it this way.’”
Urban named his new album “High” to represent the joy he felt during the project. And the music feels worthy of the enthusiasm the 57-year-old guitarist and singer-songwriter expresses about the album.
“High,” which was released last fall, opens on an especially upbeat note with “Straight Line,” a rootsy tune with an irresistible groove, perky acoustic instrumentation and plenty of hooks that will feel instantly familiar to Urban’s fans. The same can be said of the hefty ballads “Daytona” and “Messed Up As Me,” two songs brought over from the “615” album that feel like prototypical Urban tunes.
But Urban stretches out with other songs. The aforementioned “Chuck Taylors” combines the organic tones of acoustic guitar and a peppy synthetic beat to create a fresh and catchy sound, while “Laughin’ All the Way To the Drank” punches up the beat and goes even more high octane when it hits an instrumental segment with banjo, violin and guitar solos. Taken as a whole, “High” is a diverse, well-rounded effort that offers both musical comfort food and adventure.
Urban was happy with the release. But as he started planning for his tour in support of “High,” he sensed it was time for another change. He parted ways with three members of his touring band — Grammy-nominated drummer Terence F. Clark, guitarist-keyboardist Nathan Barlowe and, most notably, guitarist and band leader Jerry Flowers, who had worked side by side with Urban since 1997.
“It was really born of the fact that I wanted to be literally out of a comfort zone of familiarity,” Urban said, adding that he and Flowers will always remain close friends. “I kind of have to just keep creating new things and creating with new people creates new things. It just does. And I was wanting to do that at some point when it just was the strongest sort of voice, and this year felt like the voice was speaking the strongest. It was like, ‘Get out of your comfort zone. Throw yourself into a completely unfamiliar musical environment and see what happens.’”
Known as one of country’s best live performers, Urban promises fans who see his High and Alive World Tour shows this summer will come away happy with the experience.
“We’ve got obviously new songs to put in there from the new record,” said Urban, who has 24 No. 1 singles on his resume. “(We’re) looking back into the catalog and finding some things we haven’t done in a long time or maybe ever, finding acoustic moments to do spontaneous things each night.
“I want it to be a high-energy night, so we come out the gate swinging with the first couple of songs,” he said. “I just want everybody to release. I just want everybody to forget about their lives for a couple of hours and just have a great time and leave feeling better than they came. That’s my mission.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Keith Urban
7 p.m. Friday, May 23. With Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins. $49-$476. Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. ticketmaster.com
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