For the lone new single from the 34 Number Ones  double disc collection – other than “As She’s Walkin’ Away” with Zac Brown Band, which is the Billboard #1 this week – Alan Jackson has turned to the classic Merle Kilgore and June Carter Cash penned “Ring of Fire.”  Rather than be a pure note-for-note remake of Johnny Cash’s classic hit, Alan and Keith Stegall instead bring the tune into a modern context while retaining the classic ‘boom chicka boom’ sound from the Tennessee Three. 

It’s hard to feel anything but reverence for this song and Alan Jackson himself.  On this remake he feels refreshed and as vibrant as the classic tunes that are littered all over the #1’s collection that “Ring of Fire” is a part of.  The thing that I suspect will happen with “Ring of Fire” is that it will not be a Top 10 or Top 5 or even a #1 hit but it could eek out a Top 20 chart position.  The real shame in this is that the song is a classic that younger generations deserve a chance to listen to and it really could drive people to take a look at both Alan’s vast collection of music and that of Johnny Cash himself. 

Very few artists could remake a song like this without drawing the ire of traditionalist fans but the vibrant vocal delivery and the tastefully updated production (even without the horns) should make “Ring of Fire” a welcome addition to Alan Jackson’s catalog and country radio.

Click here to listen to the song.