Blake Shelton’s 13th studio album opens with a fitting declaration for both his latest project and the current state of his career: “Stay Country or Die Tryin’.”
It would be more accurately phrased like a question.
At this stage, Shelton is a longtime veteran of Hollywood on “The Voice” stage with a pop superstar wife in Gwen Stefani, far removed from his Nashville roots, all while maintaining the position of one of the most high-profile country stars of the current moment. But if country is a lifestyle and an image beyond its musical forms — saying nothing of the opening track’s arena-sized rock elements — is he staying true to some ethos? Is Shelton speaking diaristically when he sings “Boots ain’t never seen easy street” in the album’s opening verse?
Perhaps not. In 2025, he performs between worlds, but no matter. He’s long dedicated himself to big country radio hits and returns to those roots across “For Recreational Use Only.” The songs here concern themselves with lived-in bars (“Cold Can”) and backroad acuity (“Some things we all gotta get through/‘Til it’s goin’, goin’, gone in the big rear view,” Shelton sings on “Life’s Been Comin’ Too Fast.”)
“The Keys” is haunted by past lives, or at least, achingly sentimental in his jukebox country style; “Don’t Mississippi” offers whiskey wisdom: “You might die from a broken heart,” he sings. “But you ain’t gonna die of thirst.”
Charms are found across the release, like in the honky-tonk happy “Texas,” and its cheerful reference to George Strait’s classic “All My Ex’s Live In Texas,” or the big-hearted and big-voiced ballad on God and grief, “Let Him In Anyway.”
Collaborations are few and pointed. Shelton and Stefani harmonize beautifully on “Hanging On'”; he does the same with Craig Morgan on “Heaven Sweet Home,” an affecting meditation of mortality. He taps Josh Anderson for the slow-burn closer “Years.”
Shelton might live a very different life than the characters found in his songs, as is often true of any larger-than-life celebrity performer. But make no mistake, this is a giant pop country record, with limitless potential for radio ubiquity.
___
For more AP reviews of recent music releases, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/music-reviews
