Travis Tritt’s Debut Album Is Finally Being Re-Released
If you’re looking for something to satisfy your vintage country music craving, and close approximations from new artists aren’t exactly floating your boat, you will be in luck on April 28th when the first album from Travis Tritt will finally be re-released to streaming services.
Called Proud of the Country, it was originally released in 1987 via the label Copperhill Records. The album gave Travis Tritt the momentum to land a major label deal with Warner Bros. Records where he spent the next decade, but it went mostly out-of-print subsequently, and has never been available on streaming services.
In fact, Copperhill Records really didn’t exist as a legitimate label. It was a one-off name used by the demo recording studio in Tritt’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia to release the album. Only 1,000 original physical copies were ever made, and the record has never been digitally released, though some bootlegs can be found here and there.
The release of the album was facilitated by the company Reservoir acquiring Travis Tritt’s publishing and recorded music catalogs in 2022. The album will be distributed by Reservoir imprint Painted Desert Music, but will carry the original Copperhill label name.
Proud of the Country was produced by Danny Davenport, BillySuit, and Travis Tritt himself, with Tritt writing nine of the 11 tracks by himself. Ahead of the album release, the song “Get A Little Rowdy” has been released to streaming services, and definitely symbolizes the “Put Some Drive In Your Country” attitude that was indicative of early Travis Tritt—solid country, but with a Southern rock energy.
Proud of the Country Track List:
1. “Don’t Put Us Down” (Travis Tritt)
2. “Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” (Travis Tritt, Joey Davenport, Eddie Queen)
3. “Gambler’s Blues” (Travis Tritt)
4. “Sleepless Nights” (Travis Tritt, Danny Davenport)
5. “Proud Of The Country” (Travis Tritt)
6. “Staying Power” (Travis Tritt)
7. “Get A Little Rowdy” (Travis Tritt)
8. “Spend A Little Time” (Travis Tritt)
9. “Before You Said Goodbye” (Travis Tritt)
10. “Dreams” (Travis Tritt)
Bonus Track: “I’m Not Laughing Now” (Travis Tritt)
February 9, 2023 @ 7:13 pm
This reminds me of Alan Jackson’s first album that was only released in japan on cd. It is very rare.
February 9, 2023 @ 7:27 pm
I was going to comment that as well, though I didn’t realize it was only released in Japan.
February 9, 2023 @ 7:33 pm
Haha. If a mullet could sing, this is what you’d hear.
February 9, 2023 @ 7:54 pm
Thanks for the head’s up Trigger. Travis is an exceptional vocalist and very well-versed instrumentalist.
February 9, 2023 @ 8:17 pm
So cool. If we’re being honest, Tritt is the most musically gifted member of the Class of 89…unless you consider Vince Gill part of the Class of 89, which I don’t.
February 9, 2023 @ 8:58 pm
Agree King.
February 10, 2023 @ 10:32 am
Clint Black?
February 10, 2023 @ 11:19 am
I saw Clint in concert around 2000 and he played drums covering Steely Dan’s Josie. Sounded really good.
The next day, my wife was lucky enough to sit next to his guitarist, Hayden Nicholas, on a flight to Austin.
February 10, 2023 @ 11:38 am
Again excluding Vince Gill, you could argue Clint Black is the best vocalist, but Tritt is the most musically gifted.
Using a 4 to 1 ranking scale, and then averaging the scores opposite of the ranking.
SCORES:
Travis 3.25
Clint 2.75
Alan 2.25
Garth 2
Songwriter:
1. Alan
2. Travis
3. Clint
4. Garth
Instrumentalist:
1. Travis
2. Clint
3. Alan and Garth tie
Vocalist:
1. Clint
2. Travis
3. Alan
4. Garth
Entertainer:
1. Garth
2. Travis
3. Clint
4. Alan
February 10, 2023 @ 3:44 pm
Don’t see or hear how Clint Black could really be argued a better vocalist than Tritt
February 10, 2023 @ 4:26 pm
I would suggest you take that up with Acca Dacca. I could go either way.
February 10, 2023 @ 4:52 pm
I tend to think about his performances on songs like “Put Yourself in My Shoes”, “Bob Away My Blues”, and “Burn One Down” (to name just a few of many) when I say that he’s at least in the running against Tritt.
February 10, 2023 @ 4:51 pm
I think you’re the only one who is trying to inject Vince Gill into the conversation. I’ve never personally seen anybody try to slot him into the Class of ’89, which wouldn’t make a lick of sense given his first solo major label album came out in ’85.
I know you love to call yourself and your opinions “objective,” but that’s a subjective ranking if ever I’ve seen one, it almost seems arbitrary. Personally, I think Clint Black is a much better songwriter than Alan Jackson; his turns of phrase alone are superior. But what Alan lacks in wit he makes up for in insight, so it’s not like I’m saying he’s deficient, I just think Clint works on a different level. Also, I know you hate Garth, but I don’t think he should come up dead last in every category as a matter of principle (yes, I know you gave him the top “Entertainer” spot, but I’m almost certain that’s a backhanded “the man’s a fake a playing a part to entertain people” concession from you). I also think that Clint is a hell of a guitar player, so I’m not so sure that’s as clear cut as you say. But I love all of these artists (and Garth is okay in doses), so it’s still fun to debate their strengths and weaknesses.
February 10, 2023 @ 5:15 pm
The fact that Vince started prior to 89 is why I exclude him. The fact that I’ve seen him occasionally referenced as a member of the Class of 89, which I assume is because that’s when he really began to rise to prominence, is why I clarify that I’m excluding him.
Aren’t all opinions subjective? Can rankings that are based on someone’s opinion ever be objective?
I call myself objective on here mostly when I’m talking about things unrelated to music, because I do speak about those matters objectively, or when I’m trying to troll my uptight haters.
February 10, 2023 @ 5:17 pm
Also, I don’t completely hate Garth. He’s just not as good as the others.
February 11, 2023 @ 12:07 pm
Clint Black struck me as a great singer and great songwriter off of his first two CD’s. In later years, his singing started to sound shrill. It didn’t seem to mature gracefully into middle age like Haggard, Jones or Waylon did.
Travis Tritt had a soulful sound to his voice that stayed vibrant for longer, IMO.
As far as songwriters, Jackson stands out as the one artist in the bunch who seemed to write and sing pesonal songs about his own life. Yeah, they all wrote songs in the first person, but they’re generally clearly ficitional. When Jackson tells us about his Daddy winning a radio or drops in his mother’s maiden name–or about NOT getting laid by the Chatahoochied–he seems to be revealing his own autobiography.
February 13, 2023 @ 6:27 pm
I saw some of Travis’ guitar playing online on one of those one-man acoustic shows he did and was very impressed with his picking — I’ve always been a big fan of his singing but never thought much about his playing. Somewhere along the line I picked up a “Sounds of Wood & Steel” album, which has various artists playing instrumental numbers on Taylor guitars. Clint had a number on there, “Something That We Do,” and it was the same story: really impressive picking. I guess you don’t get where they are without having the whole package.
February 10, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
I don’t understand glorifying 90’s country so far above 80’s country. Then you can include Vince Gill, Steve Wariner, Lyle Lovett, Hank Jr, Merle Haggard, George Freakin’ Strait.
80’s country is better
February 10, 2023 @ 1:03 pm
I don’t glorify 90’s above 80’s; maybe some do. My comment was based solely on this being an article about Travis Tritt, whose career, I believe, fizzled out too quickly.
Something I’ve always enjoyed thinking about, is the ranking of 5-year periods in C(c)ountry Music history.
1. 60-64
2. 50-54
3. 65-69
4. 45-49
5. 70-79
etc.
And these aren’t necessarily my rankings, but ranking them and discussing the reasons would be so fun and interesting.
February 10, 2023 @ 9:04 pm
I made myself a promise when I was just a kid, I’d mix Southern Rock with County, and that’s just what I did.
February 9, 2023 @ 8:25 pm
Very surprised to see this. These pre-fame albums hardly ever get re-released, much less to streaming services. I’ve had a vinyl conversion of the album for several years, but I’ll gladly take a version specifically mastered for digital, please and thank you. Wish there was a CD, but I’ll take what I can get.
April 22, 2023 @ 6:39 am
Looks like this has been delayed until May and now there’s a CD version up for pre-order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Proud-Country-Travis-Tritt/dp/B0BZ593W9F/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
If you’re so inclined, you might update the article, Trig.
February 9, 2023 @ 10:25 pm
The Turnpike Troubadours need to do the same for their Bossier City album. “Three Rivers Song” is a classic.
Put it on Spotify.
February 10, 2023 @ 5:33 am
I bought a download of the Bossier City album from Waterloo Records’ site.
February 10, 2023 @ 7:03 am
Same here.
February 10, 2023 @ 7:40 am
Bought the CD 7-8 years ago from the TT website. It is so good. I stream via Amazon music and it is not on there.
February 10, 2023 @ 1:32 pm
I know about that site.
It is not Spotify.
February 10, 2023 @ 2:11 pm
Come November is the song I NEED on streaming.
February 9, 2023 @ 10:42 pm
Will definitely looking out for it
February 9, 2023 @ 11:30 pm
You can hear the youth in Travis’ voice here but still pretty good. On the topic of little-known debut albums from famous artists, Jason Aldean’s debut from 1996 is ridiculously better than his known work. Very rare, but from what clips exist on the internet, it’s a lot countrier than the rest of his output.
February 10, 2023 @ 5:36 am
Very cool. Now, release Dierks first album, Don’t Leave Me in Love. Also, while we are at it, Jamey Johnson has a cool first album out there too. I think it was called They Call Me country.
February 10, 2023 @ 5:40 am
I would like to see Charlie Robison’s Bandera get some kind of digital release.
February 10, 2023 @ 5:46 am
Now this is a travis tritt album, I much prefer his older music over his newer stuff, his last album was okay, the songs really did not stand out, like country club, and put some drive in your country. So yeah it is refreshing to hear this first album of his. Looking forward to it.
February 10, 2023 @ 6:44 am
I Have a 1st PRESSING, Autographed Copy….It’s Surprisingly a Great LP !
February 10, 2023 @ 10:07 am
There are two for sale on ebay now for $350 and $700
February 10, 2023 @ 11:07 am
there are not many things in the world i like better than early Tritt. Country music with a southern rock edge, unmatchable.
February 10, 2023 @ 2:25 pm
So exactly why can’t this be released now if there’s no physical media coming out? If a CD or record needs to be made then I understand that takes time, but if it’s going straight to streaming them why couldn’t it come out this afternoon? Just curious.
February 10, 2023 @ 2:29 pm
Digital propagation does take time, but more likely because they’re trying to do a big promotional push for it, and want to give people time to anticipate it. I am surprised they aren’t making physical product for this, but that might be coming eventually.
February 11, 2023 @ 10:37 am
I understand. Thanks, Trig.
February 11, 2023 @ 9:51 am
All I see so far is a pre-order for a MP3 download of the album. blah….
February 11, 2023 @ 5:59 pm
Qobuz is a site that offers high quality audio downloads in CD (wav) format and 24 bit. They cost a bit more than mp3 files but if you value superior audio quality they are well worth it.
Don’t know if they will have this Tritt album but most new country releases seem to be available there.
February 11, 2023 @ 6:08 pm
As for the comment discussion above with Tritt, Jackson , Brooks and Black, I like Black for melody. Listen to his song Like The Rain. It’s achingly beautiful, the song transports me with the sheer gorgeousness of the melody.
Tritt ranks way high on vocal quality and guitar ability, plus a couple bonus points for Southern Rock. Then again he can invoke a good melody too. Tell me I was Dreamin is beautiful.
Agree with Honky on Brooks, he had some epic moments but his calling card was the live show. Alan Jackson is just good old fashioned honky tonk straight up. And nothing wrong with that, he is a master of what he does. But giving the guy some credit, he has done some melodic things later in his career.
1. Tritt
2.Black
3. Jackson
4. Brooks
But the line between Tritt and Black is close