Josh Turner Announces New Album, ‘Country State of Mind’

Josh Turner has announced that he will be releasing his eighth studio album, Country State of Mind, on Aug. 21, and he’ll be including a few special guests to help him out. Named by Turner as his “Mount Rushmore of country music,” the album includes 12 songs in which Turner pays homage to a number of country music icons including five men who were influential in Turner’s own journey: Randy Travis, John Anderson, Johnny Cash, Vern Gosdin and Hank Williams. “I’ve always said that any song you hear coming from my voice, you’re going to hear bits and pieces of those five guys,” Turner said in a press release. “They taught me how to be Josh Turner.”

Country State of Mind includes both album standard and deep cuts including Vern Gosdin’s single “I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight),” which Turner often performed early in his career, Johnny Cash’s “The Caretaker” and Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken,” the latter two of which find Turner playing guitar on an album for the first time in his career. He also teamed up with other artists and got an assist from Chris Janson on the album’s title track, Runaway June on George Jones’ “You Don’t Seem to Miss Me” and Maddie & Tae on George Strait‘s “Desperately.” Turner called Kris Kristofferson to help him record a new version of Kristofferson’s hit “Why Me,” and Randy Travis joined Turner for a new rendition of Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen” in what was Travis’ first recording session since his 2013 stroke.

Turner’s most recent album was 2018’s I Serve a Savior, which was his first release to consist of primarily gospel music. It contained mostly gospel standards along with a few new songs and two new recordings of Turner’s past hits. His last batch of original material was 2017’s Deep South, which was his first album in five years. You can pre-order Country State of Mind here and see the album’s full tracklisting below.

1. I’m No Stranger To The Rain
2. I’ve Got It Made (Duet with John Anderson)
3. Why Me (Duet with Kris Kristofferson)
4. Country State Of Mind (Duet with Chris Janson)
5. I Can Tell By The Way You Dance
6. Alone And Forsaken (Featuring Allison Moorer)
7. Forever And Ever, Amen (With Special Guest Randy Travis)
8. Midnight In Montgomery
9. Good Ol’ Boys
10. You Don’t Seem To Miss Me (Featuring Runaway June)
11. Desperately (Featuring Maddie & Tae)
12. The Caretaker