James Otto Recruits Old Friends and Personal Heroes for New CD

James Otto has a tough act to follow -- himself! His 2008 album, 'Sunset Man,' delivered the most-played song on all of country radio that year with 'Just Got Started Lovin' You,' along with a huge boost in both fan and critical notoriety. He'll follow it with a self-titled album, due this September.

"This is a declaration of who I am," James tells The Boot, when asked about the eponymous title for his new project. "This country-soul sound is where we're going, and if you like it, this is for you."

The first taste of this country-soul project is 'Groovy Little Summer Song,' which is steadily climbing the charts. "It celebrates everything I love about summer," says James, "and it was the perfect first single, because it really sets the tone for the whole record."

Another song James can't wait for fans to hear is one for which the recording session, he says, was simply surreal. "I have a really cool collaboration on this album with Ronnie Milsap on a song called 'Good Thing Gone Bad.' That was one of my favorite parts of making this record -- being able to collaborate with one of my favorite artists of all time, a guy I consider the godfather of country soul. He's the guy I point to most often when I bring up my style of music, because he is the guy who bridged the gap between those types of music."

James co-wrote most of the record, calling up some old songwriter friends who've proven to be good luck charms. "There's some really great co-writers on this record, like Jim Femino, who I wrote 'Just Got Started Lovin' You' with. Most of my co-writers are friends, people I've been writing with for years and can have the most honest and frank conversations with ... Co-writers are the magic of songwriting. You have your own thoughts and sometimes it's good to get out of your own head and talk your ideas out with someone else."

And in addition to looking to his co-writers, James also looks to his favorite critic when it comes to choosing songs for his record, his wife Amy. "She's picked her favorite song," James says, "'Soldiers and Jesus.' It's a really powerful song, something that only comes along once in a while and really moves people. It's about the only two people who ever died for me, soldiers and Jesus. It's really resonated with the country fan base."

And as for that fear of having to live up to the last album? James doesn't let it consume him. "I just try to continue what I've been doing, writing songs and putting out the best music that you possibly can. This album is a reflection of who I am and what I'm doing today. That's really all you can do -- play music and see what benchmarks come up."

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