Rascal Flatts‘ Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets will be out soon. The ten-track record includes collaborations with artists like Jason Aldean, Carly Pearce, Blake Shelton and more. Putting the project together — the trio’s first since Back to Us was released in 2017, was quite literally, a dream come true, for all of them.
“What was great for me was that everybody said yes,” DeMarcus says. “I mean, it’s very humbling to think about the fact that you reach out to your friends and they want to be a part of it, give a nod to whatever we’ve been able to do in the industry. It was really special for everyone to say yes, ‘We’d love to be a part of it.’ That was one of the things that I was most grateful for.”
Not all of the songs were recorded in the same way, which made Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets that much more meaningful for Rascal Flatts.
“It was fun because we gave the artists freedom to have their own take on it and do their own thing to the song,” DeMarcus reveals. “It was awesome. Sometimes they would have us hire the band, bring them in. Sometimes they would take it away and do their own thing with it. And it was so much fun to hear somebody else’s interpretation of a song that had been out for years. It was really neat to hear what they thought it would sound like if they were the ones to have cut it.”
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A trio known for their harmonies, adding guest artists to their former hits was an exciting new opportunity for them, and one they rarely get.
“What else was great was being able to sing with all the other people, too,” he adds. “Singing harmonies with the likes of Jason and Blake and Carly, that was really special to do that.”
Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets includes hit songs like “Mayberry,” “What Hurts The Most,” “Fast Cars and Freedom” and more, songs that date back to Rascal Flatts’ beginnings, 25 years ago.
“It was interesting to see their vocal takes on songs that we’ve sang for so long and that were such big hits,” Gary LeVox says. “And just to hear them do it with their own flavor was interesting.”
“It was fun for me to listen to the original recordings,” adds DeMarcus. “Because as we’ve evolved over the years and our arrangements live have evolved, they kind of have drifted away from the album version. So, it was really fun for me to listen to the album versions and go back in and re-record them the way that we do them now, with our own little spin on them. And it was great to get the input from the guest artists too. That was fun,”
When Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets was announced, it was a chance for the trio, which also includes Joe Don Rooney, to thank their fans, and celebrate their 25th anniversary. But now, it sounds like Rascal Flatts are planning on continuing to make music together for a long, long time.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be one of those bands that can’t play and make music somehow,” DeMarcus says. “And it may be years from now that we’re just doing the Opry a few times a year, and old men just sitting on our porch, getting around playing with our guitars. But I think the three of us will be making music somehow until one of us kicks the bucket.”
See a track list for Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets below. Find all of Rascal Flatts’ music and upcoming shows at RascalFlatts.com.
Life Is A Highway: Refueled Duets Track List:
1. “I Dare You” (with Jonas Brothers)
2. “Fast Cars And Freedom” (with Jason Aldean)
3. “My Wish” (with Carly Pearce)
4. “Mayberry” (with Blake Shelton)
5. “Stand” (with Brandon Lake)
6. “Summer Nights” (with Ashley Cooke)
7. “What Hurts The Most” (with Backstreet Boys)
8. “Yours If You Want It” (with Jordan Davis)
9. “Life Is A Highway” (with Lzzy Hale)
10. “I’m Movin’ On” (with Kelly Clarkson)