Granger Smith Involved in Every Detail of New Album, ‘When The Good Guys Win’

The wait for new music from Granger Smith is almost over! The singer reveals his latest album, When the Good Guys Win, will be released on Oct. 27. The 14-track album became a labor love for Smith, who meticulously went over every single detail.

“It has a good guy feel to it,” Smith tells Sounds Like Nashville. “I had about 20 songs that I would say I was really excited about, most of which I wrote, and then there were about three or four that I didn’t write. So then we had to get it down to 16. Got it down to 16 by taking every song and saying, ‘What moment does this bring to the album, and does anything repeat that same moment?’ If there was a song that repeated the moment, I would take those two, and pick my current favorite of the two. That way, I had a ‘This is my really feel good moment,’ ‘This is my ‘melancholy, I’m a little sad moment,’ ‘This is my ‘We’re going to party moment.’ It could also be musical moment, like, ‘This has a guitar thing that’s different from everything else,’ or ‘This has this nice piano feel that doesn’t happen anywhere else.’

“So to me, the album is made of moments” he continues. “It needs to be made of moments. We got it down to 16, and then we recorded 16. After recording 16, we had to take two of those and basically we’re moving them to what we think is going to possibly be a deluxe record. At least that makes me feel better about dropping two songs. So the album has 14 songs.”

From the driving “Gimme Something” to the anthemic “Raise Up Your Glass,” the inspiring “Never Too Old” or the tender “Home Cooked Meal,” Smith not only made sure he had the perfect songs for When the Good Guys Win, but he also put a lot of thought into the order of the songs.

“When we get to 14, we have to sequence them. And that’s a whole different process that has to do with the moments and the feel of the songs. So I wrote down all 14 songs, and cut them into little rectangles, and I would put them on the desk. And then I would put them on my phone and in that order and listen to them. And I’d go, ‘No, these two can’t go together,’ so I’d take the songs and switch them until I had the perfect flow.”

It might be a lot of work, especially for a singer who has already released eight previous records, but Smith says he thoroughly enjoys every part of making an album.

“I love making albums,” Smith says. “I really do. From the beginning songwriting to the mastering. Let’s go farther and say the shrink wrap. Let’s go all the way to the shrink wrap. Getting the box for the first time is huge, in the mail. Get that box and you open it up and there it is! That’s it. And then you’ve got to rip open and open it and there’s the CD, and then you have to take it out. Same thing with digital. I’m probably the first one to download each album. Refresh, refresh, refresh, there it is! Download.”

Smith had one of the busiest years of his career, spending most of it on the road, but that certainly wasn’t going to stop him from recording a new set of tunes. Instead, the Texan decided to do the bulk of the work while crossing the country.

“The entire thing was either written or edited or recorded right here on this bus,” Smith explains. “So for the first time ever, everything was done on the road. In the past, I’ve gone on writing trips or done a lot at home — a whole lot at home — or gone to Nashville and been in writing rooms, but this was all on tour, because we did nothing but tour, in this current year. I have a mobile studio that was set up. Some of it was sung, some guitar work, everything was done at some point on this bus.”

Like Remington, his previous record, When the Good Guys Win will be released on Broken Bow Records. The debut single, “Happens Like That,” is at country radio now.

When The Good Guys Win Track Listing:
1. “Gimme Something” Jared Mullins, Jordan Schmidt, Justin Wilson
2. “You’re In It” Frank Rogers, Justin Adams, Mark Nesler
3. “Raise Up Your Glass”  Frank Rogers, Matt Alderman, Ty Graham
4. “Happens Like That”  Granger Smith, Justin Wilson, Jordan Schmidt, Andy Albert, Tyler Hubbard
5. “Still Holds Up”  Granger Smith, Justin Wilson, Jordan Schmidt, Andy Albert
6. “When The Good Guys Win” Deric Ruttan, Jonathan Singleton, Ben Hayslip
7. “Everybody Lives”  Tommy Cecil, Seth Ennis, Jay Brunswick, Jaida Dreyer
8. “Stutter” Granger Smith, Justin Wilson, Jordan Schmidt, Andy Albert
9. “Never Too Old” Granger Smith, Justin Wilson, Jordan Schmidt, Andy Albert
10. “Love Ain’t Blind” Granger Smith, Justin Wilson, Jamie Paulin
11. “4 Wheel Drive” Granger Smith, Frank Rogers, Mike Fiorentino
12. “Reppin’ My Roots”  Granger Smith, Jordan Schmidt, Josh Mirenda, Jaron Boyer
13. “Don’t Tread On Me” (ft. Earl Dibbles Jr) Earl Dibbles Jr, Austin Outlaw, Chris Gainz
14. “Home Cooked Meal” Granger Smith, Frank Rogers