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 In
an era when only a few years of commercial success have come
to be considered a major achievement, Joe Diffie, with the
release of his eighth and newest album, In Another World,
is indeed living in a rarefied world that's earned and experienced
by only a handful of country music's truly great artists.
Since his debut single, 1990's No.1 smash, "Home,"
announced the arrival of a formidable new star in the country
firmament, Joe has filled the ensuing decade with an amazing
13 Top Ten charts hits, five of which went all the way to
No.1.
So what does one do for an encore to a gold and platinum
track record like that? One listen to Joe's maiden voyage
on Sony/Nashville's Monument Records, In Another World, not
only gives more than ample answer to that question, but also
marks with crystalline clarity the difference between a bright-but-fleeting
star and an enduring, lifetime talent.
In the last ten-years-plus, Joe has shown a master's hand
at everything from heart-tugging, classic ballads to sidesplitting
and seriously rocking, country cookers. And the same could
be said of his latest offering, with the notable qualifier
that never before has Joe assembled a more complete, compelling
collection of all his many gifts into one album than he does
now… In Another World.
Not that such an achievement came lightly.
Ever since Joe's smash-laden Greatest Hits summarized and
solidified his place in the pantheon of country greats, and
ushered him into the new millennium. He and his well-established
production team-hit-makers Don Cook and Lonnie Wilson-have
been hard at work putting together In Another World, an album
that not only stands as Joe's most fully realized work to
date, but could be called, without the slightest exaggeration,
"definitive Diffie."
From the haunting, unforgettable title track, which indeed
evokes an almost otherworldly image of a love long lost, to
the tongue-in-cheek of "My Give A Damn's Busted,"
Joe takes the listener on as impactive a 12-song ride as they
are likely to encounter, this year or any.
"We took the better part of two years to find the twelve
absolute best songs that were out there to be found,"
Joe explains, "and we really got each other psyched up.
By the time we started the recording, we knew we were good
and ready to go in and-shall we say-kick some serious butt!"
And though in characteristically humble fashion, Joe admits
that the title In Another World could also be seen as reflective
of the power and magic of music, especially in the troubled
times of today's world, to carry us all to a place where peace,
hope, harmony and laughter still reign.
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