Country Artist Gary Allan opens up to fans with his new album "Set You Free," which was released on Jan. 22.
"Set You Free" is more emotionally charged than any of Allan's previous albums. Allan has had rough years including struggles in his personal life, surgery on his lungs and the death of his father. But, like many great country artists, Allan channeled this pain into his album, opening up to his fans more than ever before by inviting them into the struggles he underwent.
Although all cohesive to the album's theme, the tracks are very diverse in sound and subject matter. "You Without Me" has a conventional country sound but "No Worries" has a fresh reggae tone. The album also has typical songs based on love and heartbreak, but goes deep with "One More Time," which was inspired by the death of Allan's father.
Allan's single "Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain" is already a certified gold hit. The song, which Allan co-wrote, features the lyrics, "Every storm runs, runs out of rain/ Just like every dark night turns into day/Every heartache will fade away/Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain." It sends a message to fans that their struggles will pass and they should not lose hope.
In an interview with CMT, Allan talks about the message he wanted to send to fans through "Every Storm Runs Out of Rain" and recalled where the idea for the song came from.
"We wanted a song about hope," he said. "I wrote it with Hillary Lindsey and Matt Warren. I remember Matt Warren brought the hook. It was from an accident he had earlier that week while he was weed-eating. He said a rock hit him on the head, and he wrote on a piece of paper, 'Every storm runs out of rain.'"
Overall Allan is successful in bringing a personal connection to the album and his fans are sure to appreciate that.
Shaniel Champagnie can be reached at shaniel.champagnie@student.shu.edu.
