Miranda Lambert held nothing back in her latest album, The Weight of These Wings. The record, released in November of 2016, came a little more than a year after Lambert’s split from fellow country music superstar, Blake Shelton.
But while The Weight of These Wings contained heavy songs like “Vice” and “Tin Man,” the 34-year-old insists her latest project was not a divorce record, as some have liked to categorize it.
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“I don’t think that’s accurate at all,” Lambert tells the Cleveland Scene of the categorization. “I didn’t make a divorce record. It’s not a divorce album. Divorce isn’t a big enough deal to deserve an entire record. It’s part of the story, but I found happiness and playfulness on this record. It’s a little dramatic to call it a divorce album.”
Instead, The Weight of These Wings became a double-disc collection of songs, as Lambert found it impossible to narrow down her favorite tracks to one album.
“I just wanted to tell a story,” Lambert explains. “I was kind of wrapped up in a tabloid frenzy, and that’s completely the opposite of who I am. I’m a pretty private person. I wanted to tell my side of the story and use the emotions of going through something hard in your life. I think I achieved that.”
In addition to Lambert’s longtime producer, Frank Liddell, Lambert also worked with Eric Masse, going back to her roots for plenty of The Weight of These Wings, including how she made the record.
“We holed up in this place, and nobody knew where we were,” says Lambert. “We just worked on the album together. I like that. I like to break things up and not record at the same place twice. It’s interesting to me to get a new vibe.”
While the entire scope of The Weight of These Wings might not be about her publicized split from Shelton, at least one song – “Vice” – was written about the heartache. With lines like, “Another vice, another call / Another bed I shouldn’t crawl out of / At 7:00 AM with shoes in my hand / Said I wouldn’t do it, but I did it again / And I know I’ll be back tomorrow night,” the song gives insight into how Lambert coped, either before or after her name became tabloid fodder.
“I wrote this at the exact time of the s–t hitting the fan,” Lambert told the Tennessean of the tune, which she wrote with Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally. “I think it’s great, though. It’s documented on paper with emotion.”
Lambert is currently headlining her own Livin’ Like Hippies Tour, where she is joined by Jon Pardi and a series of rotating opening acts, including Ashley McBryde, Sunny Sweeney, Charlie Worsham and more. For the seasoned performer, who has been headlining her own shows for the past eight years, it’s this tour that will always stand out in her mind.
“This has been one of the greatest tours we’ve ever done,” she boasts. “I’ve been touring since I was 17, but I feel 2018 has a spark for us. This one feels special. The crowds have been amazing. We just played Sacramento, and it was one of those shows where the hairs on your arm stand up. It was electric. I go through my entire catalog and play a song from every album. It’s been interesting and fun. The opening act is different every weekend. I love that because it’s people who I’m friends with and huge fans of. I get to work with incredible artists and I get inspired to go out on stage.”
A list of all of Lambert’s upcoming shows is available on her website.
Photo Credit: Facebook/Miranda Lambert
