Josh Thompson is no stranger to the country music world, as a hit singer and songwriter, with multiple singles running up the charts throughout the past decade. With albums ‘Way Out Here,‘ and ‘Turn It Up’ already under his belt, Friday, October 9th marks the release date for the latest album, ‘Change: The Lost Record Vol. 1,’ the first of a two-part album release, and New England Country Music got a chance to chat with Josh about the anticipated album release.
Never one to worry, Josh played it cool when ‘Change’ got put on hold in 2011. “I didn’t know where the record would end up, but when we left Sony we took the album with us and once I had it I knew that I wasn’t going to release it immediately, but I knew at some point in time I was going to want to put it out there, and it’s been a few years, but this is finally the right time.” And when asked how he felt about the tracks finally getting out there, Josh replied, “It feels great, this will bridge the albums that I have out, it’s the missing link between ‘Way Out Here,’ and ‘Turn It Up.’ I’m excited to put it out so that fans can chronologically get it. I’ve had fans ask me for years when this music was coming out so I can’t wait to get it out and have fans come to shows singing the songs.”
Don’t fret at the title ‘Change,’ as Josh was quick to tell us right off the bat that his fan base should be ready for the same great country music. “Something that you can put on and party to, and a song or two that will be deep and hopefully bring somebody to tears. From everything they’ve heard from me so far, this certainly won’t let them down.” Josh has had the ability over the years to pump out some incredible hits, tracks that fans can instantly relate to and love, and that isn’t going to change either. “It doesn’t matter how you dress me up or do my hair, it’s never going to change who I am, a lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink kind of thing,” says Thompson about upcoming song ‘Same Old Plain Old Me,’ which Josh claims will easily be his most relatable song on the album.
After years of touring, and performing in every nook and cranny across the United States, Josh is no stranger to crowd reaction to new and old music, and he says that ‘Over Me,’ is his favorite track off the new album to perform so far. “It’s just got such a deep grove that I love to play it live, it’s got such a cool pocket and I’m just in love with the song musically and lyrically.”
One of the most anticipated tracks, a duet with Justin Moore titled, ‘Livin Like Hank,’ also happens to be one of Thompsons favorite parts of the album as well. “I’m really excited for people to hear that one because if they’re my fans or Justin fans then they’ll be able to jam to it.” Sure to be a crowd favorite, Josh recalls his time recording with Justin as a blast. “It was great to come together! It was our first time doing something in the studio together so we had alot of fun with it. A lot of back and forth banter and you can hear it right at the end, it just cracks me up!” We got the opportunity to listen in on the album prior to the release, and couldn’t help but think the same, not only will fans love the duet, but this album is sure to be on repeat in CD players across the country for the forseeable future.
You can pre-order/purchase ‘Change: The Lost Record Vol. 1’ on iTunes here.