VOA常速英语:Gary Allan Tackles Grief on 'Get Off On The Pain'

Country singer Gary Allan used his music to help get through the grief of his wife's 2004 suicide. Gary's new album shows that time has healed some of his pain.

Gary Allan addresses the loss of his wife, Angela, in "No Regrets," a song he co-wrote for his new album, "Get Off On The Pain." The album debuted at Number 2 on the Country chart and Number 5 on the Billboard 200. Many music critics have called the collection the best of Gary's career. Allan acknowledges that a few of the tracks on "Get Off On The Pain" are reminiscent of his earlier albums, but adds that he and his band experimented with some new sounds as well.

"I feel like we've got pieces of the other albums, but at the same time I feel like we broke new ground, just stuff that I haven't done before with songs like 'Kiss Me When I'm Down' and 'That Ain't Gonna Fly,'" he said.? "To me, 'That Ain't Gonna Fly' almost gets into the Beach Boys' kind of realm. So, I think for me, always trying to pioneer into something I haven't done just so that it keeps evolving for me, but I think we managed to lock down some of the past."

"Get Off On The Pain" is being sold in two versions, the regular CD and a deluxe set with one bonus studio track and three live hits.

Speaking of live performances, Gary is supporting his new album on a North American concert tour. He'll spend June and July opening shows on Brooks and Dunn's final tour.

The title track from "Get Off On The Pain" has just been released as the second single. Gary didn't write the song, but feels a personal connection to its lyrics.

"I relate to that song on a lot of levels," he said. "That's why I loved it so much, and wanted it to be the title cut. To me it reflects the road. The road is a very relentless grind that I love. I get off on it. So, to me it's like very 'get off on the pain.' And, a lot of those lines about being on the outside of the pack, back of the pack with the dark horses, I feel like we've been that our whole career. Just kind of on the outside of what's happening."