Shooter Jennings Covers Dire Straits

9/4/2007 Stephen L. Betts   Singer/songwriter Shooter Jennings will debut the first single "Walk of Life,” from his upcoming album, The Wolf, on Sept. 17.  Originally made famous by Dire Straits in the mid-1980s, the song was chosen as the first single for its lyrical content, and also to help familiarize audiences with the sound of Shooter’s third CD. "I've loved this song since I was a kid, but when I actually read the lyrics, I was fascinated by the line 'he do the song about the sweet lovin' woman, he do the song about the knife,' because it's a struggle that I can relate to as a musician," explains Shooter. “Hopefully this song will make people let their guards down, and it will open the door to the rest of the album. Then the more personal songs I wrote will speak for themselves.” Shooter wrote nine of the 13 tracks for The Wolf, which was produced by Dave Cobb, offering fans a revealing look at the singer's personal struggles and triumphs. Other standout tracks on The Wolf include the autobiographical country blues-tinged title cut, as well as “Slow Train” featuring guest vocals by iconic country music group The Oak Ridge Boys. “Dave and I were able to live out some of our musical fantasies with this album, which includes horn sections, and some of the Grand Ole Opry background singers,” says Shooter. “It's a country album that shows my influences from guys like Hank Jr. and my dad [Waylon Jennings], and a lot of the country from the ’70s and ’80s. We also got a cool drum sound for the whole record that almost has a disco sound to it, as strange as that may sound. I think my fans are really going to dig it.” The Wolf will be released Oct. 23.