Blake Shelton - No Bull!
Blake Shelton is pure Country—and that’s no bull. Because there’s not a hint of pop or even rock inflections in his vocals or musical arrangements, he has not always enjoyed the kind of chart consistency that the major labels demand. Since making his debut in 2001, he’s achieved several number one hits with such memorable country songs as ‘Austin’, ‘The Baby’ and ‘Some Beach’, but in-between those big hits, he’s watched other, equally impressive singles, miss out almost entirely on the country charts.Luckily, for those country fans who favour the purer sounds of modern country, Blake has ridden out the down times with regular touring and released three gold albums. Earlier this year he released album number four, the aptly titled PURE BS. It is pure Blake Shelton, straight country music in the time-honoured tradition of classic George Jones, Gene Watson, Earl Thomas Conlee and Conway Twitty. An honest, convicted collection of songs that showcases Shelton’s range of talent and exposes the uncertainty and heartache he has endured recently.”I didn’t think that I would fall in love with songs that were making me feel bad,” Blake explains over the transatlantic phone. “But maybe it would help me get through my divorce and all of that. I found myself kind of leaning toward those songs and recording them, and after we had about 8 or 9 things recorded it was easy for me to see what I was doing. I was looking for help, and errr, I think, it ended up being the best album I could make because of that.”“Even though I didn’t know I was doing it, I did what I was supposed to do. I was making an album that was from my heart, you know, something for my heart. That’s probably the best way you can make a country album, just to be honest and open up even when times are tough. That’s what country music is supposed to be—it’s supposed to be about reality and if that’s what it takes to make a great album then that’s what’ll happen. I just hope I don’t ever have to go through that crap again!”Blake filed for divorce from his wife Kaynette after less than three years of marriage in May 2006, exactly a year before the release of PURE BS. The couple were married November 17, 2003, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Kaynette played a major part in the singer’s career, travelling on the road with him as his assistant, being a sounding board for his song material and also appearing in his ‘Some Beach’ video…Read the full story in the December 2007 issue of Maverick Magazine…
