Description
Nobody could have predicted the impact Randy Travis’ proper debut would make on country music when it was released in 1986. Recorded by a virtually unknown singer-songwriter who had once been rejected by every major label, and bolstered by production and arrangements that spotlight Travis’ impeccable vocals, Storms of Life spurred a stylistic sea change that would soon sweep Nashville and place the North Carolina native at the center of the neotraditionalist movement. For all the merit afforded by the blend of honky tonk, country and western, and balladry, nothing eclipses what Travis brings to the project. He approaches every song with an uncanny modesty, his conservational drawl and casual demeanor nearly concealing the power, reach, and artisan-like effortlessness that inhabit each note he sings. Travis never overdoes it; rather, he relies on instinct and, combined with his golden pipes, never sounds less than completely invested.
Mastered from the original analog master tapes, pressed on ultraquiet vinyl at RTI, and issued in partnership with Warner Nashville in commemoration of the record’s 35th anniversary, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g vinyl LP of Storms of Life stands as the first contemporary country audiophile reissue and a testament to Travis’ Country Music Hall of Fame legacy. Housed in a single-pocket tip-on gatefold sleeve with new artwork, the quadruple-platinum album now boasts see-through transparency, breathtaking clarity broad dynamics, and gorgeous tonalities that allow listeners the opportunity to experience one of the greatest vocalists in recent memory with unparalleled intimacy, realism, and breadth. Details such as the patient swell and bloom of pedal-steel guitars; rise and carry of background vocalists; bluesy drift of harmonicas; depth of pianos; airiness, snap, and twang of acoustic guitars; back-porch sweetness of fiddles and mandolins; and grounding pace of the drums come across with reference-quality sound. In tandem with Travis’ singing, they set a template that has still yet to be matched in country music.
