Jason Aldean just released Songs About Us. His 12th studio album, the 20-track record is also Aldean’s most personal of all of his projects. Songs About Us includes “Help You Remember,” written by Aldean, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan, and Lydia Vaughan. The song is inspired by Aldean’s uncle, who passed away with Lewy body dementia, and his wife, Brittany Aldean’s father, who is currently battling dementia.
“You want to make albums, and you want to feel like you’re moving the needle or not doing what you did on the previous album,” Aldean tells his record label. “And I think this album is probably a little more personal than a lot of the stuff we cut in the past. Songs like ‘Help You Remember,’ going through family stuff with that song on both sides of our family, my side of the family, and my wife’s side of the family, dealing with dementia and those kind of things.
“It’s really kind of hit home, and our family pretty tough, and so we wrote this song,” he continues. “And things like that, just letting people in a little bit on stuff that’s personal to us and our family. Obviously, having Britt sing on one of the songs, [‘Everything Gone’], I mean, haven’t done that.”
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Jason Aldean’s Throwback Sound on ‘Songs About Us’
Songs About Us comes 21 years after his eponymous freshman album was released. With more than two decades of music since then, Aldean happily returned to his roots for some of the tracks on Songs About Us.
“I feel like a lot of this album was kinda getting back to some of the earlier sounds of stuff that we did that we kind of moved away from a little bit,” explains the singer. “And a lot of times, the songs also dictate those things. You got a song like ‘Burnin’ It Down,’ it’s really tough to cut a song like that, really traditional. So, it kind of depends on the songs. I think the songs that we’re leaning on these days are a little bit more of a throwback to not early early, but like a throwback to some of the stuff that I think got people on board with our music early on. And they’ve always been there.
“I mean, those songs have always been on the album,” he adds. “But I think it’s a little more predominant on this record than it has been recently.”
Jason Aldean’s Future Plans Following ‘Songs About Us’
With a dozen albums to his credit, Aldean would love to keep making music for years to come. Still, he is realistic about his future in country music, especially with the longevity he has already experienced.
“I still enjoy the process of making an album. … The album’s out, and I’m fired up,” Aldean admits. “We worked hard on this record, and I love the songs. I think it’s a really good album. And so, I still enjoy that process. If it ever gets to a point where I don’t want to do that, or people just move on to whatever – I mean, I also know that every artist has a shelf life. And at some point, people are gonna move on, and we’re gonna kinda phase out probably. And when that happens, then we’ll reevaluate. My goal is to keep making music that is relevant, that I think is cool, and hopefully people want to hear.”
Aldean may not always have hits at radio. But he looks to heroes like George Strait when considering what he wants his future in country music to be like.
“I look at guys like George Strait who’ve been around forever,” Aldean says. “If he dropped a new album tomorrow, I would be all over that thing, going to listen to it. So, that’s the goal. I’ve always said I think the fans will tell you when it’s time to take a break or back off or do something else. But hopefully we’ll be able to tour for the rest of my life on these songs and this career that we’ve built.”