Listen To “I Win”
NEW YORK — Songwriter Adam Wright has gained a reputation for his rooted, literary style among some of Nashville’s most well-respected artists, producers, and writers. His songs have been recorded and performed by artists including Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, and John Legend, among others. Today (10/9), he’s releasing a new collection of songs he’s performing himself, I Win, which the Associated Press calls “a witty antidote to 2020.”
With the exception of a few, the 12 songs on I Win were written and recorded this spring during the lockdown. Wright’s calendar had cleared completely and he dealt with it by getting being busy.
“A lot of what I do on Music Row is writing songs with artists for their projects, just trying to help them say what they want to say,” Wright says. “It’s a lot of fun and very rewarding, but when all of that stopped, I got to just write for me. Like a mechanic with some time off to finally work on his ‘64 Mustang.”
“‘I Win’ is a quarantine accomplishment…craft and care are reflected in the way he packs
clever rhymes and wordplay into concise tunes.” – Associated Press
The songs on I Win are decidedly lighter than some of what makes up Wright’s other albums; while some of the songwriter’s other work can be dark, here he “puts some weight on the other end of the seesaw,” as he says, to counteract an already heavy world. The result is an impossibly fun listen that’s still infused with the precision of Wright’s other work. The album has received early praise from The Bluegrass Situation and Wide Open Country, among others.
Songs like “Rhymes with Bucket,” “Never Mine,” and “Come Back Home” employ wordplay. “Cheer Up” is meant to do just that and features Wright’s grandpa’s piano. “Wonder If The World Can Wait That Long,” eerily clairvoyant of the shift in outlook that’s been the center of the past six months, was actually written before the shutdowns and offers sparse arrangement at the suggestion of Wright’s wife, Shannon.
A twice Grammy-nominated songwriter, singer, producer, and musician, Wright has additionally written songs for Brandy Clark (with Randy Newman), Robert Earl Keen, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Aubrie Sellers, Lonesome River Band, Brent Cobb, Solomon Burke, and others. “All The Trouble,” recorded by Lee Ann Womack and written by Adam, Womack and Waylon Payne, was nominated for Best American Roots Song at the 61st Grammy Awards and Americana Song of the Year for the Americana Awards. “So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore,” written by Wright and Jay Knowles, was recorded by Alan Jackson and nominated for Country Song of the Year at the 55th annual Grammy Awards. Adam also co-produced Jackson’s critically acclaimed The Bluegrass Album.
He has toured alongside Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, Robert Earl Keen, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Raul Malo, Aubrie Sellers and more. His studio work is featured most heavily on albums by Lee Ann Womack (The Lonely, The Lonesome and the Gone), Aubrie Sellers (New City Blues, Far From Home), The Wrights, and on his own releases.
Wright and his wife, Shannon, released four albums together as The Wrights. Their work is still highly regarded for its songwriting, harmonies and production.
Wright’s most recent full-length solo album, Dust, was released in June of 2018. The deep, dark 11-song narrative is full of characters in mostly dire situations and is delivered, vocally and musically, with the subtlety of master craftsmanship. In 2019, Adam simultaneously released two separate EPs; Big Ideas from a Small Window Overlooking Legendary RCA Studio B (or Rodeo) and Queen of the Meadow.
He continues to write for Carnival Music Group in Nashville and works closely in the studio with Carnival’s owner and award-winning producer, Frank Liddell.
I Win Track Listing:
1. Straight Down
2. Darlene
3. Cheer Up
4. Come Back Home
5. I’d Be Good
6. Wonder If The World Can Wait That Long
7. Never Mine
8. Rhymes With Bucket
9. Sure Wanna Stay
10. Worry
11. Down on the E
12. I Win
More about Adam Wright:
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