Rimes breathes life into country classics

Rimes conceived of this concept album in which she covers Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Merle Haggard and others as an opportunity to give a woman's perspective for each song. The album was rearranged and reinterpreted by Rimes. 20-time Vince Gill, Darrell Brown (Keith Urban, Rascall Flatts) and Rimes executive produced the album. Other producers on the album include Justin Niebank and John Hobbs.

"This album was born out of the memories of when I first fell in love with country music and in reflecting, I realized that almost all of my favorite country songs from back then were sung by men," said Rimes. "I am honored to take a step back in time and sing these songs from a woman's perspective and hopefully help reintroduce them to a new audience."

Rimes first gave a taste of "Lady & Gentlemen" last year with the release of the remake of Swingin', one of Rimes' favorite songs as a child, originally performed by John Anderson in 1983. The song earned Rimes a 2011 Grammy nomination for "Best Female Country Vocal Performance."

There will be several bonus tracks on the CD, including as a special thank you to fansa remake of her signature song Blue 15 years after it was released. "I have been performing the song for years, it's become a classic that people love just as much as I do, so it felt natural to remake the song for this album that covers country classics," she said.

The disc will feature two original new songs as bonus tracks, including her current radio single Give. "'Give is a powerful song with a message that I believe needs to be shared with the world, especially in these times of today," Rimes said. "I'm so honored to sing this song and help spread that message." Also included on the album is Crazy Women, an up-tempo song about how love drives everyone crazy sometimes.