But don't mistake those dualities for dichotomy–and certainly not polarity.In a storied career dotted with smash singles, platinum albums and countless honorsand acclaim, maybethe connection between country's timeless themes and music-of-the-moment timeliness has been there allalong.Many of the country fans behind thealmost 20 million on-demand and video streams for hislatest single'Need A Bar Sometimes'–who may also be among his 750,000 TikTok followers–are wholly unawareof Walker's history.Discovered in a Beaumont area bar by noted producer and head of Giant RecordsJames Stroud(Toby Keith, Tracy Lawrence,TimMcGraw, Kenny Rogers), Walker was in his earlytwenties when he started rattling off a string of smash hits. There's also amix of songwriting and production approaches,evident and more nuanced relationships between thesongs themselves,and the overarching presence of a naturally gifted vocalist whorelentlessly pursues hisown development as a singer. There's more to the duality of Clay Walker's debut Show Dog Nashville albumTexas To Tennesseethanthe title.Certainly,the realities of place are as central as this comeback album'sname implies:Nashvillebusily working toward the next fresh hit Texas moving at its inimitable and familiar pace.
