''Country State of Mind'' is the eighth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer Josh Turner. It was released on August 21, 2020, via MCA Nashville.

Content

The album is composed entirely of cover songs. First released was Turner's cover of

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

's "

Forever and Ever, Amen "Forever and Ever, Amen" is a song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in March 1987 as the first single from the album '' Always & Forever'' and became Travis's t ...

", which features Travis on duet vocals. The recording was Travis's first since his 2013 stroke. Other artists whose songs are covered on the album include Patty Loveless,

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: " I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, and

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

Kris Kristofferson provides duet vocals on a cover of his own "

Why Me Why Me or Why Me? may refer to: Music * Why Me (Kris Kristofferson song), "Why Me" (Kris Kristofferson song), 1973 * Why Me (Styx song), "Why Me" (Styx song), 1979 * Why Me? (Irene Cara song), "Why Me?" (Irene Cara song), 1983 * Why Me? (Linda Mart ...

", and

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

on his "

I've Got It Made "I've Got It Made" is a song written by Max D. Barnes, and recorded by American country music artist John Anderson. It was released in November 1993 as the third single from his album '' Solid Ground''. The song reached number 3 on the ''Billboar ...

". Other collaborators on the album include

Chris Janson Christopher Pierre Janson (born April 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Janson has recorded three full-length albums, '' Buy Me a Boat'', '' Everybody'', and '' Real Friends'', through Warner Bros. Records Nashville, alo ...

(who sings on the title track), Allison Moorer, Runaway June, and Maddie & Tae.

Critical reception

Rating it 3.5 out of 5 stars,

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

stated that "Unlike some country covers albums, ''Country State of Mind'' doesn't rely heavily on shopworn classics." He also called the album "simple, straightforward, and satisfying", praising the inclusion of cover songs from the 1980s as well as the vocal contributions of Anderson and Kristofferson.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from

– duet vocals on "I Got It Made" *Perry Coleman – background vocals *Naomi Cooke – background vocals on "You Don't Seem to Miss Me" * Chad Cromwell – drums *David Dorn – keyboards * Dan Dugmore –

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

*Jamie Lin Wilson - harmonica on "Desperately" *Taylor Dye – background vocals on "Desperately" *Lashanda Evans – background vocals *Maddie Font – background vocals on "Desperately" *Kevin "Swine" Grantt – bass guitar, harmonica * Kenny Greenberg – acoustic guitar,

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...

, electric guitar,

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

, programming *Vicki Hampton – background vocals *Tania Hancheroff – background vocals *Terrell Hunt – background vocals *Evan Hutchings – drums, percussion *

– duet vocals on "Country State of Mind" *Mike Johnson –

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

, steel guitar *Trey Keller – background vocals * Kris Kristofferson – duet vocals on "Why Me" *Jeff Linsenmaier – programming * Allison Moorer – duet vocals on "Alone and Forsaken" *

Gordon Mote Gordon James Mote (born October 25, 1970) is an American Christian country/ southern gospel singer, piano virtuoso, and worship leader. He was born blind. He has released eight studio albums. His album ''Don't Let Me Miss the Glory'' (2007) was ...

– Hammond B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

*Justin Niebank – programming * Danny Rader –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, dobro, acoustic guitar, hi-string guitar *Joe Spivey –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

*Natalie Stovall – background vocals on "You Don't Seem to Miss Me" *

– guest vocals on "Forever and Ever, Amen" * Josh Turner – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals *Jennifer Wayne – background vocals on "You Don't Seem to Miss Me" *

Glenn Worf Glenn Worf is an American bassist known mainly for his work as a session musician. He has recorded with many major country music acts and also tours with Mark Knopfler. Early life and education Worf was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Madis ...

– bass guitar

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums MCA Records albums Josh Turner albums Covers albums Albums produced by Kenny Greenberg