K.T. OslinK.T. Oslin is back with her first album in nearly 15 years, titled Simply. The project features sparely produced versions of K.T.’s Grammy and CMA Award-winning signature song, “80’s Ladies,” as well as other hidden gems from her back catalog.
For those not familiar with K.T.’s story, 1987’s “80’s Ladies” became an anthem for women juggling the decade’s demands of motherhood, career, marriage and divorce. The song went on to win CMA Song of the Year and earned K.T. the Female Vocalist of the Year titles from both the CMA and ACM, too. A string of #1 hits followed, including 1988’s “Do Ya” and 1990’s “Come Next Monday,” but K.T. walked away from it all in her late fifties after releasing her 2001 album, Live Close By, Visit Often.
After more than a decade out of the spotlight, K.T. returned to the stage late last year with a cabaret-style show including new versions of her hits as well as lesser-known songs from her platinum-selling discography. The concerts in Nashville and Austin played to sold-out crowds, and the idea for Simply was born out of those shows.
She tells ABC Radio, “I realize that the business has changed so much. You’ve got to have something to sell, if it’s foot cream or what. You’ve got to sell something! So, I said, ‘Well, why don’t we just make a little album and sell it at the dates?'”
Using the three musicians who back her up on stage, K.T. went in to record Simply to capture the new, stripped-down song arrangements.
“What you see on stage is what is on the record,” K.T. explains. “I don’t have horns and violins and people swinging from the roofs on the record and then I can’t reproduce that live. I want you to get the same effect.”
To be clear, Simply is not a re-recording of K.T.’s greatest hits. Instead, K.T. wanted to feature some of her lesser-known songs, like the sassy “Younger Men” and the breakup anthem, “New Way Home.”
She says of her obscure song selections, “I didn’t want it to die away. I didn’t want it to shrivel up and die on the vine. I wanted to expose it somehow through the dates to a new audience. Possibly a younger audience that would go, ‘Hey, I like this.'” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
K.T.’s album, Simply, also features a brand-new song, “Do You Think About Me.” It’s now available at iTunes and Amazon.
Here’s the Simply track list:
“Do You Think About Me”
“Younger Men”
“Hold Me”
“I Can’t Remember Not Loving You”
“Live Close By, Visit Often”
“New Way Home”
“She Don’t Talk Like Us No More”
“Maybe We Should Learn to Tango”
“80’s Ladies”
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