Radney Foster

For singer/songwriter Radney Foster, the choice was easy. Throughout his career, he has always taken the path less traveled…and in the process opened up a whole new world. With his first studio album in four years, he’s done it again. Another Way To Go is a revelation and is already being held up as the album of his career.

Foster has long walked a fine line. By marrying smart lyrics with undeniably memorable melodies, he’s been able to garner both critical raves and commercial success. One look at the folks who have covered his songs, from the Dixie Chicks and Tanya Tucker to Hootie and the Blowfish—and you realize this guy is not easily categorized.

As one half of the duo Foster and Lloyd, Radney recorded three groundbreaking albums for RCA, becoming one of the first acts to be played simultaneously on Country and College radio. The duo broke through in the late 80’s, a rare time in Nashville’s history when Country radio welcomed other innovative acts like Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam. Foster and Lloyd’s "Crazy Over You," went straight to number one, making them the first duo in history to top the charts with their debut single. Meanwhile, their albums were appearing in the Top Ten on the College chart, sharing common musical ground and press accolades with Rank and File, Lone Justice and the Blasters.

When the duo split up, Foster recorded two solo albums for Arista Nashville, which yielded hits like "Nobody Wins" and "Just Call Me Lonesome." With 1998’s See What You Want To See, Foster pressed past Nashville’s limits and found a whole new audience with hits like "I’m In," and "Folding Money." In many ways, his foray into a pop sound freed him to turn back to his roots, which he did with the live acoustic album, Are You Ready For The Big Show. That set produced the number one song of 2001 on the Texas Music Chart, "Texas In 1880" (with special guest Pat Green).

Now, with Another Way To Go, Foster has come full circle; not afraid to push boundaries—yet happy to let his roadhouse roots show.

"I really laid my heart on the line with See What You Want to See because of the emotional upheaval in my life--I had been through a divorce and had to deal with my young son moving to France. All of those hard times make for good music. Now that I’m happy and married and recording again, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to plow the same kind of emotional field. The challenge was to find a way to do it on songs about joy and about struggle—to paint with the whole palette." One listen to the powerful songs on this collection and you know Foster has hit his mark. The intensity of emotion is still there, but there is an exuberance and sense of freedom to this album that was never captured before.

Each song plows fresh territory, yet together they form a cohesive whole, from the jangly pop of "Real Fine Place To Start," to the heartfelt tribute "Everyday Angel," the bold challenge of the title track, to the greasy funk of "I Got What You Need" and the sweeping cinematic feel of "Again." Though Foster covers a wide range of styles, he never strays from the Texas singer/songwriter storytelling tradition, evident in the campfire introspection of "What Are We Doing Here Tonight," the devastating honesty of "Disappointing You" and the tender, bittersweet "Scary Old World," which Radney co-wrote with legendary songwriter Harlan Howard just before his death.

"When I first learned the craft of songwriting, I operated from the school of "you grab a hook, you write a song," Foster says. "But more and more, I don’t write songs that way. These songs were born out of telling stories about life. That’s what I’m always trying to find -- a little piece of the truth." Indeed, Foster’s greatest talent is his uncanny ability to take a peek inside your soul… and tell the story better than you could yourself.

The story he’s telling here is that if your heart’s in the journey, there’s always another road to take—a message that comes through loud and clear, even before he brings it home with the album’s closer. "I named the album Another Way To Go because for years I was told that you had to follow a certain formula to be a success," says Foster. "In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s often when we break the rules that the most creative music is made."