In honor of her brand-new album Slow Me Down, which hits stores Tuesday (March 11), Sara Evans is our Impact artist this week.
Slow Me Down is the Missouri native’s seventh studio album, so it’s no surprise she dove into this project from a position of confidence. “I have a lot of strong opinions because I’ve been doing this my whole life and I know what I want,” Evans said.
You can hear that confidence in the powerhouse vocals she brings to the material, starting with lead single “Slow Me Down,” the song that gave the album its name. Written by Marv Green, Heather Morgan, and Jimmy Robbins, the song first hit the airwaves last fall.
In addition to working with some of Nashville’s finest songwriters (including Dave Berg, Shane McAnally, Karyn Rochelle, Sarah Buxton and Shane Stevens), Evans also cowrote three of Slow Me Down‘s tracks: “You Never Know,” If I Run” and “Sweet Spot.”
On top of that, Evans also coproduced the album with Mark Bright, the guy who helmed her platinum-selling Real Fine Place and has also worked with the likes of Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Reba. “I just love him,” Evans said of Bright. “I really wanted Mark’s type of personality and production on this. He’s always so bright and chipper and is there to give support, direction and his expertise. Plus he’s such a great song guy.”
Among Slow Me Down‘s 11 tracks are a series of duets that pair Evans with Vince Gill (“Better Off”), Gavin DeGraw (“Not Over You”) and Isaac Slade of the Fray (“Can’t Stop Loving You”). “Having Isaac, Gavin and Vince sing with me, was an amazing experience and they took those songs to another level,” Evans said.
“Making Slow Me Down has been a truly amazing experience,” Evans said. “I had the chance to cowrite with some of my favorite writers, work with Mark [Bright] and some truly incredible musicians — and now hearing what we created gives me such an incredible sense of pride.”
“I knew that when I started to make this record that I wanted to go further than I had ever gone before with my music,” she added. “I wanted to be more of a perfectionist than I have ever been before. I’m super happy with the outcome. Sonically it sounds different. It sounds bigger than anything I’ve ever done.”
(Courtesy Sony Music Nashville)
Slow Me Down track listing:
Slow Me Down
Not Over You – (featuring Gavin DeGraw)
Put My Heart Down
Can’t Stop Loving You – (with Isaac Slade of The Fray)
You Never Know
If I Run
Sweet Spot
Good Love Is Hard to Find
Better Off – (featuring Vince Gill)
I Gotta Have You
Revival
