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The album in question, titled IT JUST COMES NATURAL, is being released in a year that marks Strait’s 25th anniversary as a recording artist, and coincides with the announcement that he is the most recent addition to the Country Music Hall of Fame. It’s also coming out alongside the jaw-dropping news that George Strait has become the all-time leader for Number One Country singles, as the album’s opening track, “Give It Away,” recently became his 53rd song to top the charts.
But rather than rest on his well-deserved laurels, the legendary Texas troubadour is back with one of the strongest and most well-rounded collections of his career.
For the first time, Strait recorded NATURAL in a new setting – a small studio in Key West, Florida. “I thought it might be a good idea to try something different,” says Strait. “You couldn’t tell that we cut this down there, there’s no island flavor at all, but we just had a blast doing it. The studio is probably the smallest I’ve ever been in, with the musicians all crammed back in a little room - but we got a great sound, and it’s such a relaxing atmosphere. I think I’ll probably go back again.”
Recorded once again with Strait’s frequent co-producer, Tony Brown, the sounds on the album reflect Strait’s characteristic blend of traditional country structures shot through with a healthy dose of honky-tonk spirit and Western swing. Moods range from the introspective “Come On, Joe,” in which a man’s late wife tells him to be strong and move ahead with his life, to the raucous “Texas Cookin’,” which is about just what it sounds like. An array of Nashville’s finest songwriters contributed to NATURAL, including Bill Anderson, Bruce Robison, Lee Roy Parnell, and Guy Clark.
“I’ve always just done the music that I felt comfortable doing,” says Strait. “I don’t really think that everything I’ve done has been really hard-core traditional - there’s definitely songs that you couldn’t classify that way. On this album, I wouldn’t call the title cut a traditional country song, but it’s a great song.” Indeed, the smash “Give It Away,” features Strait doing some unexpected spoken-sung sections, and it instantly sailed to the top of the country charts.
George Strait knows those charts well. His 1981 debut single “Unwound” was a Top 10 hit – and he has had at least one single hit the Top 10 every year since. His statistics are nothing short of astonishing, with more than 62 million albums sold in his career. He has 13 multi-Platinum, 30 Platinum and 33 Gold albums - more Gold albums than any other artist in Country Music, which ties him with no less than Frank Sinatra in eighth place for the most Gold albums of any artist in any musical genre.
“The great thing about George Strait,” rising star Dierks Bentley recently said, “is that he’s being doing it since the early ‘80s, but he still makes every sound check, which is more than a lot of guys below him can say. He brings who he is to each town, which is really a Texas dance hall singer. He can make the biggest arena feel like it’s a honky-tonk, trying to take that crazy energy to the biggest venue and making it feel as small as possible. He still enjoys touring after all the years".
“When I’m on stage doing a show, I still get nervous before I leave the bus,” says Strait. “And I’m nervous right up to the point where I break into the first song, and then that kinda leaves me and I just feed off the crowd after that. A lot of people say I look pretty laid-back on stage, and that may be true, but I’m pretty pumped up there. And having a great band inspires me, too – the guys continue to amaze me onstage.”
On IT JUST COMES NATURAL, Strait also continues to find inspiration in the country legends who preceded him. “I’ve been influenced by a lot of people in my career,” he says, “the swing music that Bob Wills was doing, songs that Merle and George Jones wrote and sang - it’s just great to listen to. I think it’s an art form that will always be with us. We may move a little bit away from it at times but it’s always going to come back.” In fact, George Jones figures into several songs on this album. “She Told Me So” is a song Jones recorded years ago (“I did it a little different - nobody can do it like George does”), while “Texas Cookin’” also draws on the attitude of the ol’ Possum. “That’s just a fun, fun song,” says Strait. “Lyrically it’s silly, but I was always drawn to a humorous song. I think I get that from George, too - he’d always have some humor in his records. “At the end of that one,” Strait continues, “I thought it would be good to get all of the guys in the room together and do all the chorus together, clapping our hands and singing. We had a great time in there and I think that comes across on the record.”
Not that IT JUST COMES NATURAL is all light-hearted. Much of the album focuses on the complexities, challenges, and joys of relationships between lovers. “That’s My Kind of Woman” tells of a man looking for a woman who shares his interests (“Good luck with that!” says Strait with a chuckle), while “A Better Rain” is “an abstract way of wishing a better life to a person you’ve split up with.” Strait is especially proud of “He Must Have Really Hurt You Bad,” a classic story about a woman done wrong told from a bartender’s point of view. “He can tell she’s been in a bad relationship,” says Strait, “and he ends up telling her at the end to stay at home because only bad things are going to happen to her in here.”
The timeless songs on IT JUST COMES NATURAL represent the kind of consistency, range, and power that have defined George Strait for all these years – the reasons he has now been given country music’s highest tribute, election to the Country Music Hall of Fame. “Being inducted is the highest honor that you can get in this business,” says Strait. “To have that happen while I still feel like I’m competitive, while I can still walk up and accept the honor without any help, is just amazing to me. I’ve been waking up in the morning and thinking about what it means - it’s hard to put into words because it’s so big. Maybe in the back of my mind I’ve had it as a goal, but you can’t ever expect anything like that.”
Despite all the Top Ten hits, all the sold-out arenas, all the trophies and honors, though, George Strait denies that the title of his new album is any way autobiographical. “I wouldn’t say that this all just comes natural to me,” he says. “It’s always an effort. I’m fortunate to be able to sing, but I don’t think I could be so bold as to say it comes natural.” - With all due respect, millions of George Strait fans probably disagree.
