Frankie Ballard Announces New Album, ‘El Rio’
Frankie Ballard is getting ready to release a brand-new album. El Rio, which includes the single "It All Started With a Beer," will be available on June 10. As previously revealed, Ballard and his band left Nashville to record the project, setting up shop, so to speak, in El Paso, Texas.
"I’ve done a lot of recording in Nashville and other places, but I really wanted to get out and away and try to focus and eliminate some distractions that come from recording in Nashville," Ballard tells The Boot, "just in an effort to make the music better."
El Rio will be Ballard's third studio release, following his eponymous debut disc in 2011 and Sunshine & Whiskey, released in 2014. All three singles from Sunshine & Whiskey, including the platinum-selling title track, landed at the top of the charts, but Ballard isn't ready to rest on his laurels just yet.
"I’m trying to get better with every album, because I think that’s what the fans deserve," he explains. "I’m really proud of what we recorded. "It All Started With a Beer" is out now to radio, and I think it’s in the Top 20, so it’s doing well."
Written by Jaren Johnston, Neil Mason and Jeremy Stover, the tune, Ballard says, has a hidden message, which is what drew him to the song.
"On the surface, it’s a love story about two folks meeting in a bar and having a beer. From there, the relationship blossomed into something long-lasting, and now they’re looking back, going, 'Man, look at this great relationship we got, and it started so simply, with just a beer,'" Ballard notes in a press release. "So many people can relate to the idea. But also, one of the deeper meanings of that song is, sometimes the biggest s--t that happens to you in life doesn’t start in a big way. That makes me hopeful for the future."
For El Rio, Ballard worked once again with producer Marshall Altman, who produced Sunshine & Whiskey. And while they worked hard, Ballard admits that getting out of town for a while made the process fell "like a retreat."
"I’m really excited," he adds. "I feel like this is going to be a step up, musically, with this next album."
A complete track listing for El Rio is below. The disc is available for pre-order on iTunes and through Ballard's official online store.
Frankie Ballard, El Rio Track Listing:
1. "El Camino" (Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton)
2. "Cigarette" (Kip Moore, Chris Stapleton, Jaren Johnston)
3. "Waste Some of Mine" (Jimmy Yeary, Craig Wiseman)
4. "Little Bit of Both" (Ben Hayslip, Chris Janson, Craig Wiseman)
5. "L.A. Woman" (Frankie Ballard, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)
6. "It All Started With a Beer" (Jaren Johnston, Neil Mason, Jeremy Stover)
7. "Sweet Time" (Frankie Ballard, Jaren Johnston, Jon Nite)
8. "Good as Gold" (Mando Saenz, Justin Bogart)
9. "Southern Side" (Monty Criswell, Rick Huckaby)
10. "You’ll Accomp’ny Me" (Bob Seger)
11. "You Could’ve Loved Me" (Dustin Christensen, Chris Gelbuda)
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