Travis Tritt: ‘Set in Stone’ – Album Review

Travis Tritt’s new album, Set in Stone, is available now, May 7th, everywhere you buy or stream music. Read our full album review and check out the new music below.

For country legend Travis Tritt, Set in Stone marks his first studio album in thirteen years. Produced by acclaimed producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, The Highwomen), the album is Tritt through and through, featuring eleven new songs, eight of which were co-written by the Opry member. 

The album opens with “Stand Your Ground,” a rocking uptempo inspired by a conversation between Tritt and Waylon Jennings. “There ain’t no substitution for the truth,” Tritt wails, clearly inspired by the likes of Jennings and Hank Williams Jr, “Don’t ever let them turn your head around // Just stand your ground.” Tritt recalls Jennings giving him the following advice that led to the song, “Don’t pay any attention to what those people say. They’re not the ones that buy your tickets to your shows. They don’t know your audience the way that you do, so you just stick with your program.”

This is a theme that follows through much of the album, as Tritt remains true to the sound and style that has endeared him to fans for decades. On the album’s title track “Set in Stone,” Tritt sounds remarkably similar to Chris Stapleton, which is never a bad thing. On the twangy mid-tempo track, Tritt celebrates his legacy, “I don’t worry about when I’m gone // My legacy is set in stone.”

On “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like That No More” and “Smoke in a Bar,” Tritt is longing for the olden days. While the former is a twangy up-tempo about cars and women, the latter is a sentimental ode to simpler times. “They say we’ve come a long way,” Tritt argues. “But I’d say it’s a little too far // From when the world turned slower // And you could smoke in a bar.”

“Smoke in a Bar” is one of the album’s finest moments, hearkening back to the storytelling days of 90s country music, which Tritt says was the intention. “For so many years country music told the greatest stories of any kind of music genre out there and we’ve gotten away from that. People are nostalgic not only for that kind of music but also for that way of life…It’s all nostalgia,” He says. “This is a song that is talking about longing for a time gone by when you could sit on your front porch and talk, go to bed without locking the front door, and just simple things like that. Those days seem to be gone forever.  Songs like this are songs that people can relate to that yearn for those simpler times and good ole days.”

“Leave This World,” which Tritt co-wrote with Ashley Monroe, is another slow-burn waltz of a track, his vocals shimmying carefully over the sounds of a steel guitar. It’s the ultimate love song as Tritt begs to leave this world hand-in-hand with the love of his life. “I’d do anything I have to do // But I don’t want to leave this world without you.”

The album’s driving first single, “Ghost Town Nation” invites the listener to make the best of a bad situation, inspired in many ways by the pandemic. “It ain’t no big deal,” He muses. “It’s just armageddon.” On the uptempo track, he escapes to the wilderness to escape real life, “making the best of a bad situation, getting by fine in a ghost town nation.”

The album ends with the bonus track, “Way Down in Georgia,” a stomping bluesy ode to his home state that reminds us of Marc Broussard’s “Home.” It’s the perfect conclusion to an album that shows Tritt evolving musically while still staying true to his roots.

On Set in Stone, Tritt stays true to his soulful grit and country sound, while also managing to sound much like a modern-day outlaw. With driving guitar licks, twangy piano, soulful background vocals, and Tritt’s tried and true country voice on full display, Set in Stone is a must-listen for all country fans.

TRACKLIST:

1.     “Stand Your Ground” (Travis Tritt, Wayne B. Durrett III, Channing Wilson)
2.     “Set In Stone” (Travis Tritt, Brent Cobb, Adam Hood)
3.     “Ghost Town Nation”(Aaron Raitiere, JB Strauss)
4.     “Smoke In A Bar” (Jeremy Bussey, Derek George, Tim Montana)
5.     “Leave This World” (Travis Tritt, Ashley Monroe)
6.     “They Don’t Make Em’ Like That No More (Travis Tritt, Matthew Dillon Carmichael)
7.     “Better Off Dead” (Travis Tritt, Adam Hood)
8.     “Southern Man” (Travis Tritt, Channing Wilson)
9.     “Open Line” (Travis Tritt, Brent Cobb)
10. “Ain’t Who I Was” (Brent Cobb, Adam Hood)
11. “Way Down In Georgia” (Travis Tritt, Dennis Anthony Robbins, Troy Seals)

NYCS Picks:

1. Smoke in a Bar
2. Stand Your Ground
3. Way Down In Georgia

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Set In Stone is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music here on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.