Blake Shelton‘s For Recreational Use Only album is out on May 9. Shelton put a lot of thought and intention into every detail on he 12- track record, Shelton’s first on BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville— except the title.
“One of my least favorite things to do is name tours and name albums,” Shelton admits on Country Countdown USA. “I’ve never been good at it, and it’s always been the last thing. You work so hard on an album, getting it exactly where you want it. You think you’re done, and then my manager calls and says, ‘Hey man, you didn’t name the album.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to call the album.’ … I remember the day he called. He’s like, ‘Man, they need the title like yesterday.’ And I just blurted out, ‘What about ‘For Recreaitonal Use Only’?’ He goes, ‘Love it. We’ll print it.’ And that’s kind of how it happens.”
It’s been four years since Shelton released an album, with his last record being Body Language, out in 2021. The time away gives Shelton a lot of excitement and energy, as he readies the release of his twelfth studio album. It’s a project Shelton admits he wasn’t sure would ever even come to fruition.
“I had some things recorded that I had kind of been holding onto,” Shelton reveals.” To put all that together and go, ‘Okay, now we need this, this, and this, I think.’ I got super into it and fired up this time, like the early days of making records, when everything was still out in front of me, and there was so much mystery out there. I kind of felt that way again this time, because it had been a long time. And honestly, I didn’t know if the door was going to still be open. It had been so long.”
In fact, if not for the success of “Texas,” Shelton’s first single from For Recreational Use Only, he admits he would have questioned whether he still had a place in country music.
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“I don’t think you’re being honest with yourself if you don’t have that thought, at least when you’ve been doing it as long as I have,” Shelton remarks. “Like, there’s a new generation, and then another new generation that have come along in the last few years. You have to think that way or you’re not being honest. The excitement of watching ‘Texas’ take off the way it did, while we were still trying to finish up the album was even more inspiring, and lit more of a fire under me.”
For Recreational Use Only also includes a duet with his wife, Gwen Stefani, on “Hangin’ On.” The song was written by Charles Kelley, along with Sam Ellis and Greylan James. Shelton and Stefani latched onto the idea of recording the song together right away, even though it isn’t a love song. And the Grand Ole Opry member hints that all of his records in the future will also likely include Stefani.
“As long as Gwen is willing, I don’t know if I’ll ever make another album without having a duet with her on it, just because it’s fun,” Shelton reveals. “That’s what I want my albums to be. And it’s Gwen Stefani … We don’t even have to say, ‘Hey, do you want to do this song with me?’ We’ve just been able to look at each other now. [Producer] Scott Hendricks played me ‘Hangin’ On.’ Charles Kelley had sent it over for us, and it was just a moment where Gwen and I were looking at each other, going, ‘You want to?’ ‘Yeah, I will.’ … There’s no formal ask with the two of us, because we’ve written so many songs together, and recorded other songs together. It’s just a thing now with us.”
In addition to “Texas,” Shelton has also released “Stay Country or Die Tryin” and “Let Him In Anyway” from For Recreational Use Only. See a track list below. Pre-order the record, and find all of Shelton’s music and upcoming shows at BlakeShelton.com.
Photo Credit: Jamie Wendt
For Recreational Use Only Tracklist:
1. Stay Country or Die Tryin’ – (Drew Parker, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, Beau Bailey)
2. Texas – (Johnny Clawson, Kyle Sturrock, Josh Dorr, Lalo Guzman)
3. Hangin’ On (feat. Gwen Stefani) – (Sam Ellis, Charles Kelley, Greylan James)
4. Strangers – (Michael Hardy, Zach Crowell, Jameson Rodgers)
5. Let Him In Anyway – (Michael Hardy, Zach Abend, Kyle Clark, Carson Wallace)
6. Heaven Sweet Home (feat. Craig Morgan) – (Chris Tompkins, Sarah Buxton, Jake Rose)
7. Life’s Been Comin’ Too Fast – (Craig Wiseman, David Lee Murphy, Lindsay Rimes)
8. Don’t Mississippi – (Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Ben Hayslip, Josh Osborne)
9. All of My Love – (Colton Swon, Zach Swon)
10. Cold Can – (Bobby Pinson, Josh Osborne, Andrew DeRoberts)
11. The Keys – (Jay Brunswick, Brock Berryhill, Bobby Pinson)
12. Years (feat. John Anderson) – (Pat McLaughlin, John Anderson, David Ferguson, Daniel Auerbach)