Chris Stapleton Announces New Album “Higher”
Chris Stapleton will try and take us all Higher when he releases his latest album on November 10th. While much of the mother brain of country music is muddied up by polarizing opinions on folks like Morgan Wallen and Jason Aldean, Chris Stapleton just keeps soldiering forward as one of the most consistent and successful artists in mainstream country music, even if his sounds veers more into Southern rock and soul.
That’s not always a bad thing though, and this is evidenced by the new song “White Horse,” which accompanies the announcement of the new album. High energy and evocative, the song reminds you a bit of Jompson Brothers-era Stapleton, and eschews the sometimes sleepy nature of some of his music. It was co-written with Dan Wilson from Semisonic, who also co-wrote “When the Stars Come Out” with Stapleton from 2015’s Traveller.
Higher was co-produced by Chris Stapleton and wife Morgane Stapleton with Dave Cobb at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, just like all of Stapleton’s albums since his meteoric rise from the songwriting class in 2015. It will feature members of his touring band J.T. Cure (bass) and Derek Mixon (drums), along with steel guitar maestro Paul Franklin, Morgane on background vocals, synthesizer, and tambourine, and Lee Pardini on organ and piano.
Similar to his previous releases, Stapleton is not saying much to the public about what to expect from the album, what the inspirations behind the album are, or anything else. Instead he’s allowing the music to speak for itself, which has put him in his current position, including being the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year.
Quietly and with no controversy, Chris Stapleton continues to put together a high caliber legacy in country music that puts the music first. Along with new song “White Horse,” Chris Stapleton has been recently performing the song “Crosswind” live. “It Takes a Woman” is also a song Stapleton has performed in the past as an other song from his repertoire. See full track list below.
Higher tracklist:
- “What Am I Gonna Do”
- “South Dakota”
- “Trust”
- “It Takes a Woman”
- “The Fire”
- “Think I’m In Love With You”
- “Loving You on My Mind”
- “White Horse”
- “Higher”
- “The Bottom”
- “The Day I Die”
- “Crosswind”
- “Weight of Your World”
- “Mountains of My Mind”
July 23, 2023 @ 8:53 am
We live in a privileged time for “alternative” country/roots music options. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Stapleton is the baddest dude in the business. This song absolutely rips.
July 23, 2023 @ 9:05 am
Great lead single. Its been on repeat since Friday.
July 23, 2023 @ 9:12 am
Seeing him and King George next Friday in Nashville. Can’t friggin wait. Everything Stapleton sings is amazing.
July 23, 2023 @ 9:22 am
Loving You on My Mind is most likely the Josh Turner song from the Haywire album.
I have an old demo of that and The Day I Die, along with a slew of other unreleased songs by a not yet mainstream Stapleton
July 23, 2023 @ 12:14 pm
A few of the songs like The Day I Die and Weight Of Your World were also on the hard-to-find double album “Essential Chris Stapleton” circa 2013.
Higher is one of his really early songs. I remember hearing it on his MySpace page.
One of the things I enjoy about his music is that “lived in” feel of new releases that have actually been a part of his catalog for a very long time, just waiting to be heard.
July 25, 2023 @ 6:14 pm
There’s a live video of White Horse from 9 years ago on youtube.
July 25, 2023 @ 6:37 pm
Yes, I read an interview where he said they wrote White Horse in late 2012 or early 2013. In the same interview, he said he wrote the title track Higher way back in 2001.
July 27, 2023 @ 1:01 pm
With the decline of Southern rock, there’s a big gap between trying to sound like pop music, traditional country and giving country a rock edge. I believe Chris Stapleton is bridging that double canyon and bringing everyone with him. Chris has eschewed the current sound of the radio for the combination of traditional country, old school R&B and soul, and some bona fide southern rock guitar. And rather than letting current events get in his way, he stays quiet and lets the music do the talking. Bravo to the new king of modern country.
August 23, 2023 @ 9:24 am
Dustin,
Can you share with us?
Please!
July 23, 2023 @ 10:09 am
White Horse has to be so good live. Feels like it could be a good one to stretch out and jam on when playing live.
July 23, 2023 @ 10:37 am
Great song! Looking forward to the album.
I also saw where Travis Tritt is putting out a gospel album produced by Dave Cobb.
July 23, 2023 @ 12:37 pm
Stapleton is consistent and this should be no different. Tritt’s gospel album is one I am highly anticipating. His voice just lends itself to that genre.
July 23, 2023 @ 1:41 pm
For Kyle,
Currently, where is the best place to purchase Light As a Feather, Stiff As A Board?
Life is going to be slowing down for ~ 2 and 1/2 weeks, and this is probably going to be a good time to devote attention to this book.
July 23, 2023 @ 1:42 pm
Amazon seems to be the easiest and best.
Thanks!
July 23, 2023 @ 1:47 pm
: D Ok, Thanks
July 23, 2023 @ 2:42 pm
Good for him and his fans. I don’t particularly like his music though I have enjoyed a couple songs.
July 23, 2023 @ 3:06 pm
Dave Cobb did it again. And congrats to him for also producing an amazing Greta Van Fleet album. He’s branching out into quality rock music too with GVF and Rival Sons.
July 23, 2023 @ 4:30 pm
ALBUM OF THE YEAR – AUTOMATIC WIN AT THE CMA AWARDS & ACM AWARDS.
NO BUTTS, NO COCONUTS
July 23, 2023 @ 8:53 pm
No no, Gabe Lee has that sown up. Sorry, Drink the River won’t be beaten.
And yeah, another Stapelton album of a voice with some mundane instruments and words around it. What’s it called, From A room part 5?
Mind you, it might have something like Scarecrow in the Garden. That was a good song.
July 24, 2023 @ 12:47 am
Gabe Lee to win a CMA award??
You musn’t be a betting man
July 23, 2023 @ 5:12 pm
Hopefully he will also announce a new costume. The duster and the turquoise / feathers on his newly acquired cowboy hat have always been ridiculous. But Justin Timberlake…. He couldn’t pick out New Mexico on a map if his life depended on it, and apparently he doesn’t know too many Etta James songs either.
July 23, 2023 @ 5:29 pm
“Hopefully he will also announce a new costume. The duster and the turquoise / feathers on his newly acquired cowboy hat have always been ridiculous.”
: D Hey, wait just a minute …
Roy Rogers always had Trigger, you would not have wanted Roy to corral Trigger and go with another horse …
July 23, 2023 @ 7:15 pm
Abrasive and one-dimensional delivery. Foo Fighters drumming. Cliche guitar work. Uninspired lyric.
Chris’s best work was “Starting Over.”
I hope the rest of the record is better than the phoned-in “this goes to eleven” linked here.
July 23, 2023 @ 8:33 pm
Anxious to hear more. I wonder if the song The Day I Die is the song that Mark Collie has a version of on YouTube?
July 23, 2023 @ 9:50 pm
Stapleton still does nothing for me. The cover art gave me hope…
July 28, 2023 @ 9:05 am
Wow…just wow! 🙄
July 24, 2023 @ 5:54 am
Though there seems to be some resentment that has grown for Stapleton in the independent country community, for me he has grown into one of my most listened to artists. I’ve always considered myself more of an album listener, also liking to make my own “best of” mixes of an artists music. But I do like to make playlists for when I’m driving, or out camping, or in the backyard by the pool. There is no other artist that fits in to so many different playlists. Country, Outlaw, Honky Tonk, Southern Rock, Blues, Americana, Acoustic, and so on. Chris Stapleton not only fits in these playlists, he masters them all while sounding undeniably like Chris Stapleton.
No matter what mood for music i seem to be in, or what playlist I’m playing, there always seems to be a Chris Stapleton song that comes on. Looking forward to the new album.
July 24, 2023 @ 9:36 am
Ever since 2015, Stapleton has suffered from “It’s popular so it must suck” syndrome. I definitely agree with some of the folks who say his music has been sleepy at times. But for mainstream country, it’s some of the best.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:21 am
My problem with Stapleton isn’t his popularity. It’s his vocals and guitar style. He’s way closer to SRV or something than he is to singers and guitarists I like. The whole southern rock blooze thing works against him, for me. I suspect for an awful lot of listeners that is true. My definition of country music is also very honky tonk and western swing tele/steel/fiddle centric, which I don’t think he pulls off very well. Or tries to.
July 24, 2023 @ 10:42 am
One thing I will say…
Me – a 50 year old raised on 80s & 90s county and hair metal
My 71 year old husband – raised on classic rock, R&B, and beach music
My 28 year old son – raised on 90s and 00s hard rock and heavy metal
My 22 year old daughter – raised on pop and 00s country
We don’t agree on much music wise. But we all stop and listen when Stapleton comes on. He is interesting enough to have something for each of us. Not many artists like that anymore.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:00 am
That’s the truth Cee Cee. I’m 57 and I was Raised on classic rock and outlaw, then moved on to metal like my friends as a teenager. My 54 year old wife and all my kids also love Stapleton.
I would also argue that Stapleton is far from mainstream despite his success there. As Cee Cee says, he just has a wide appeal. And as Trigger says, that appeal seems to be a problem for some.
July 24, 2023 @ 6:21 am
Great song. Great delivery by a great singer. Looking forward to his new album.
July 24, 2023 @ 7:25 am
I will reserve judgement until I get to hear the album as a whole. The A- Room albums really bored me overall. I still maintain his best work was The Steeldrivers. But the last album did have Hillbilly Blood, which had some grit and fire to it. (Sadly, im actually the only person in existence i think that thought that was the best track on the record! Haha.) At this point in career, he’s no purist or country savior, he’s closer to southern rock, and I did like The Jompson Brothers album a lot. If he just moved over to a straight up southern rock sound entirely I would wholeheartedly support it. But bring it big, more guitars, more big soloing, etc. But for reasons known only to Stapleton, he plays it safe and goes middle of the road, never overly country and only occasionally full blown rock and roll.
The minimalist vibe he’s repeating with Cobb just plain bores me to death. The talents there in spades, but the execution lacks. Yes, I’ve been a Stapleton apologist for years, thinking the Cobb era was only a phase he would eventually get past. But, financially and otherwise it’s been a smashing success for him, so from a pure business perspective I get it. From a music fan perspective I wish he would go in another direction.
Will see how this album stacks up.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:07 am
I’m also a Jompson Bros fan and loved Hillbilly Blood. But I disagree with the rest. I like Staleton’s variety of sounds, especially the country. That being said, I could get into another Jompson Bros album as a side project.
July 24, 2023 @ 8:50 am
Go check out Brother Marshall and the Choir of Fire’s cover of “All the Gold in California.” I’ll give you a hint… Brother Marshall is a character in a show on HBO right now.
July 24, 2023 @ 10:35 am
Lee Pardini of Dawes is a wizard. That’s cool.
July 24, 2023 @ 10:41 am
He’s got an incredible voice but I find the songs and instrumentation lacking.
I preffered the stuff he did with the Steeldrivers. But what do I know, he’s making a lot of cheese.
July 24, 2023 @ 11:53 am
JCC, I think you and I are on a similar page. Can you imagine if Stapleton put a true guitar gun kinda player in his band? Like a Daniel Donato or Laur Joamets, or for that matter any of the upcoming Telecaster guns out there. It would raise the excitement level considerably. And if you are paying an elite player like Paul Franklin, then how about letting him really rip some solos, or put the steel upfront in the mix instead of relegating it as an afterthought. Part of it I blame on Cobb. He’s just such a sparse production guy. Oh the potential.
July 24, 2023 @ 1:02 pm
I agree, let it rip! What’s the use of having a Cat like Paul Franklin if you’re not going to let him show out?
C.S. has found a lane that’s working for him though. He’s in a place to appeal to a lot of different tastes. Heck he’s selling out stadiums. It’s just not my cup of tea.
I feel the same about Isbell. My favorite Isbell album is “Live From Alabama”. After that it’s too mellow or Dad Rock for me.
I grew up in Georgia on the Allmans, MTB, Skynyrd and Wet Willie; so that’s my main lane.
July 24, 2023 @ 3:36 pm
Jason Aldean songs are very good songs. Try that in a small town song is very correct and he should be very proud of the song I love it and I told my parents about it my father grew up in a small town and he said that is true.
July 25, 2023 @ 8:06 am
I listened to “white horse.” It sounds like Guns’n’Roses with Rod Stewart singing. Which is great because I like heavy metal with distorted slide guitars. The best thing I look forward to
is hearing Paul Franklin on this album; that guy is a master. I would love if Chris Stapleton at some point would record a very sparsely instrumentated, mostly acoustic album with mainly him on acoustic guitar and Paul Franklin playing steel guitar fills on EVERY song. With lots of vocal harmonies by his wife/bandmate.
July 26, 2023 @ 5:04 am
Everyone is ignoring the 10,000lb elephant.
Is the title track a Creed cover?
I’ll see myself out.
November 12, 2023 @ 11:47 am
Looking forward to the review now that the album is out. Some good music, and an awful lot of tracks that sound like some sort of bizarre country lounge act channeling the Bee Gee’s and Marvin Gaye.