James House - Broken Glass Twisted Steel [2014] torrent

As an artist, James House placed nine records on the Billboard country charts between 1989 and 1996, with the biggest being 1995’s "This Is Me Missing You," which hit No. 6 in 1995 – almost two decades ago. Since that time, he has also found success as a songwriter with hits from Dwight Yoakam ("Ain’t That Lonely Yet"), Diamond Rio ("In A Week Or Two") and Martina McBride ("A Broken Wing"), so hit songs and House go hand in hand. Still, the performer tells Billboard that he received a note in the fall of 2013 that threw him for a little bit of a loop.

"Back in November, I got an email from a fan who said ‘This Is Me Missing You’ is number one on the UK dance charts," he said with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "My first thought was that somebody covered it. I emailed back and asked who cut it, and they said ‘Nobody. It was our track.’ I investigated, and indeed it was number one." The success of the song made him think about the possibility of a new record – something he hadn’t done since 2009’s Home, Vol. 1 EP. "I thought if there was ever be a great time to do another record, this was it," he told The 615.

That project, "Broken Glass, Twisted Steel," is out this week on House’s own Victor House label. It’s a mixture of new material, along with a few songs that House has been waiting to put his stamp on for awhile. "I’ve been wanting to do this record for a long time – with my versions of ‘Ain’t That Lonely Yet,’ ‘In A Week Or Two,’ or ‘A Broken Wing.’ I also had some new stuff on the record as well that I wanted to cut. It was just a good time. I really enjoyed it."

The singer reflected on the success of "A Broken Wing," a 1998 number one for McBride that has become one of her signature performances. "It’s like an old friend," he said warmly. "Somebody sang it the other night on 'The Voice,’ and they did a great job on it. You write a lot of songs, and you figure that one in a hundred is going to be special. That happened to be that one," he said.