Country Is Raye’s Format

With today’s release of “The Best Of Collin Raye: Direct Hits” the singer is taking aim at a wide audience.

The album will feature 10 hits and four new songs - “What The Heart Wants,” “The Gift,” “Little Red Rodeo,” and “Open Arms.”

Of the new songs, Raye says he’s been performing “Open Arms” in his shows for a long time and gets such positive fan reaction to it that he decided to put it on the hits package.

“Songs like ‘Open Arms’ are universal,” he says. “Everybody knows that song, and we started doing it live because I liked it, and it worked better and better and better. People started expecting me to do it, and I thought, ‘Why don’t I just record it?’ I always felt like ‘Open Arms’ was a country song hiding in a rock uniform. It’s a straight-ahead love song with one of the best choruses ever.”

Raye also has high hopes for “The Gift,” written by Tom Douglas (who penned Raye’s hit “Little Rock”) and Jim Brickman. He also recorded a version as a duet with contemporary Christian artist Susan Ashton, that will be released to “adult contemporary” radio stations.

“This will be the first time I’ve ever had two separate versions of a record come out at the same time. I’m kind of excited about it to see what flies … (The duet) turned out really good. I felt wonderful about it. Of course it’s all about the song, and the song is wonderful. I think it touches every nerve there is to touch.”

Raye is excited about the duet’s potential at adult contemporary radio, but affirms that country is his home format. “It has always been my first love musically and always will be,” he says. “That’s what I do and what I am … but on another scale, what can we give back to the industry … I think having a big adult contemporary hit that’s a crossover can bring people to the country dial.”

The “Direct Hits” enhanced CD will allow fans to sample Raye’s earlier recordings. “They are able to hear 30 seconds of every song from every one of his albums,” Sony senior vice president of sales and marketing Mike Kraski says. “There’s also a ton of interview footage. It gives a real nice sense of Collin Raye the person, which is something we’re really trying to focus on. He’s such an engaging man … and we’re working hard to make sure the fans get a feel for that.”