His first album for Big Machine Records will be released on Feb. 5, 2013 and is set to prove once again that on stage and on record, he remains dedicated to delivering music that is innovative, heartfelt and authentic.
"When we cut 'Two Lanes of Freedom,' there was such a freshness to it," he says. "The track has this sort of Gaelic drive to it and really sets a palette for the whole record because it's so visual—it has that summery, hazy image and I think that made the whole record open up for me."
McGraw reaches some especially emotional depth in his performances on such songs as "Number 37405," the lament of a singer-turned-convict. Most powerful of all might be "Book of John," a wistful account of a family going through the journal left behind by its late patriarch. The album closes with "Highway Don't Care," a breezy yet complex track that features Taylor Swift (the song is featured as number 13 on the album as a nod to her) and Keith Urban.
TWO LANES OF FREEDOM TRACK LIST:
1. Two Lanes of Freedom
2. One Of Those Nights
3. Friend Of A Friend
4. Southern Girl
5. Truck Yeah
6. Nashville Without You
7. Book of John
8. Mexicoma
9. Number 37405
10. It’s Your World
11. Highway Don’t Care (featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban)
ACCELERATED DELUXE VERSION INCLUDES
Annie I Owe You A Dance
Tinted Windows
Let Me Love It Out Of You
Truck Yeah LIVE
In his record-shattering career, McGraw has sold over 40 million albums and dominated the charts with 32 No. one singles. Since the release of his debut album in 1993, he has won three GRAMMY’s, 14 ACM Awards, 12 CMA Awards, and 10 AMA’s, while simultaneously maintaining a parallel career as a successful actor in such films as The Blind Side, Country Strong, and Friday Night Lights—as well as hosting Saturday Night Live, a rare honor for a singer in any genre. Nielsen-BDS recently certified McGraw as the most-played Country artist of the past 20 years (1992-2012) with more than 10 million spins detected and Mediabase recognized him as the most-played Country artist in the history of their tracking service.
