Strait opts for a "Cold Beer Conversation"

Strait also announced that he would perform four shows in Las Vegas next year in what is being called "Strait to Vegas." He will play the still under construction Las Vegas Arena. Shows at the 19,000-seat arena are slated for April 22-23 and Sept. 9-10. Kacey Musgraves will open the shows.

"I'm so happy to be here to announce this," Strait said. "I said all along I wasn't going to tour any more, but I also said I wasn't retiring by any means, and I still wanted to do some dates."

"After we did the last show at the AT&T Center in Dallas, we worked really hard getting the live album out, the CMT special and those kinds of things, and I went into the studio to cut a new record. I had some time to write...It hasn't been all time off. I've been working here and there."

Strait he was "really proud' of the new CD. "I think it's a great record," he said. "I always say this, I think it's one of the best records I've done...You've got to go in the studio thinking that way. I'm very excited about that. I'm also very excited to be coming out there and playing for the fans again."

"I'm looking forward to singing those songs that I love so much," he said.

"I don't have to be really inspired," he said when asked about his inspiration for the CD. "I'm inspired all the time."

Strait said he wrote "three or four things" on the record with others, including his son Bubba.

"If I'm making a record, it's the most important thing at that time," he said.

"I'm not going to change," he said. "That's who I am."

Strait he decided to play Vegas because "I pretty much played in Vegas my whole touring together...it's fun to play Vegas. It really is a lot of fun. The crowds are great, and they come from all over the place."

"I didn't want to do another tour, a structured tour. So, I can come in here, do a couple of dates here, maybe go home for a month or so and then come back and do a couple of more here and there."

The disc contains 13 songs from frequent Strait contributor Dean Dillon, Jamey Johnson, Keith Gaddis, Ben Hayslip, Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Buddy Cannon and his son, Bubba Strait.

The title track is the first single and will go to country radio on Wednesday.

Songs on the CD are:
1. It Was Love 3:25
2. Cold Beer Conversation 3:49
3. Let It Go 3:31
4. Goin' Goin' Gone 4:14
5. Something Going Down 3:13
6. Take Me To Texas 3:30
7. It Takes All Kinds 2:52
8 . Stop and Drink 3:58
9. Everything I See 3:49
10. Rock Paper Scissors 3:05
11. Wish You Well 3:36
12. Cheaper Than a Shrink 3:33
13. Even When I Can't Feel It 3:34

In 2012, Strait said he would no longer tour. He started the Cowboy Rides Away Tour on Jan. 18, 2013 and ended it on June 7, 2014 with more than 100,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Strait's last album was "Love is Everything" in 2013.

"The King is back, releasing new music with MCA Nashville," said Universal Music Nashville President Cindy Mabe.