Lonestar Rock Out on Newly-Imagined Version of ‘No News’ [Exclusive Premiere]
The transformation of ACM, CMA and Billboard award-winning group Lonestar’s massive 1996 hit “No News” all began with a newly-imagined guitar riff.
“My weird, growling guitar tone at the beginning kind of creates a more gnarly guitar-driven groove that is reminiscent of the original but takes it someplace new,” explains Lonestar guitarist Michael Britt during an interview with Taste of Country. “It just feels fresh and fun and it’s hard not to crank it up.”
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And there’s more where that came from. Because on the legendary country group’s new album Ten to 1, which is set for release on June 2, Britt joins bandmates Dean Sams, Drew Womack and Keech Rainwater in reimagining not only “No News,” but a total of ten of their No. 1 hits, including "Amazed" and "I’m Already There."
“To have creative control when re-recording all ten No. 1s was a blast,” remarks Lonestar’s lead vocalist, Womack, of the band’s impressive music catalog. “Just four friends making music the way we want to! That said, a song like ‘No News’ became a household tune, so we had to keep it pretty true to the original.”
Indeed, "No News" 2023 stands out. Listen:
“This version of ‘No News’ is the most hard-hitting recording on the Ten to 1 record,” Sams explains of the song, the lyric video for which is premiering exclusively on Taste of Country. “From the opening new guitar riff to the over-the-top vocal ending, this fresh take on our first number one song is my favorite!"
The infusion of new sounds into these old songs not only served up a creative spark within a band that just celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2022, but also has invigorated their live show.
“Our new version of ‘No News’ is a product of playing the song on the road for over 20 years,” explains Britt. “We’ve played around with the arrangement off and on over the years and what we’ve ended up with is still similar to the original arrangement but there is a different kind of groove to the new version. The choruses open up and the song just kind of builds up to the end with the call and response background vocals. It’s incredible.”
Lonestar's year is packed out with dates as part of the band’s national headlining Ten to 1 Tour.
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