Joe Nichols Puts Down His Pen

Something new fans will find on Joe Nichols' latest album, Old Things New,' is that for the first time in his career, he didn't include any songs written by him. Joe explains that he simply didn't feel he could bring anything to the table that would be better than the songs he picked from other writers this time around.

"I think an album, a career, and a long-term career is made on great songs -- and whether or not I wrote those songs is moot," Joe tells GAC. "Great songs are great songs, no matter who wrote them. If I wanted to record an album with three singles -- and songs four through 10 [are] filler, but I wrote them so I'll be making some bank off the other three songs that are hits -- I think that's bullcrap. I think people that buy those [kinds of] albums, they get turned off by that ... and they go, 'I don't necessarily trust that this guy's gonna do a good album -- the last album had two good songs on it. That's it. The rest of them he wrote. And they were crap.'"

But Joe hastens to point out, he's in total awe of those artists who are somehow able to turn out album after album that are brimming with self-penned hit songs.

"I think it says wonders about people that can write an entire album, and put out an entire album of great songs," he notes. "I mean, the Brad Paisley's, Alan Jackson especially, even Taylor Swift -- those people can really pen great stuff."

But for now, Joe is more interested in building a long-term career, rather than grasp for writer's credits to make an extra buck.

"Right now, the place that I'm at, I'm not one of those guys ... so I'm not gonna sacrifice what I think is great for a long-term career, to put a little money in my pocket. I don't wanna do that. I'd rather not have anything [I wrote] on the album, and have 10 great songs on the album that can't be denied. That way I can build trust with the country record buyer out there."