COLLIN RAYE : A Contemporary Guy Playing With Tradition

Contemporary country, traditional country . . . contemporary country, traditional country. . . .

Singer Collin Raye bounces back and forth between these genres, not quite sure where he belongs. Fortunately for him, his fans don’t seem to mind. They just like his music, however it’s categorized. His first album on Epic, “All I Can Be,” is at the 900,000 sales mark, while his second, “In This Life,” is nearing 800,000. His third album, “extremes,” is just out.

Does Raye prefer one of the genres?

“In my heart, I’m stone country,” says the 33-year-old Texan, whose sweet tenor is well suited to teary-eyed ballads. “I love to sing that down-home, Waylon Jennings kind of bare-boned, hard-nosed music--that’s pure emotion and heartache.”

On record, though, Raye still seems more comfortable in contemporary country, an expansive hybrid encompassing pop, rock, blues and soul. In concert, Raye can rock out on Rod Stewart’s “Hot Legs” or croon Elton John’s melancholy “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” The first single from the new album is “That’s My Story,” a frivolous Lyle Lovett song.

“Critics jump on me for singing those non-country songs--asking how can a true country artist sing those songs,” Raye says. “Country has changed so much in the past few years that a country artist can sing anything. Maybe he couldn’t do it comfortably years ago, but he can now.”

Raye grew up on that Buck Owens-Merle Haggard brand of music in Texarkana, Tex. He worked the club circuit and recorded some singles with his brother Scott on Mercury Records in the ‘80s before landing a deal with Epic in 1990. Along the way he’s become a sharp and outspoken observer of the country scene.

For instance, he’s skeptical about its ballyhooed recent growth.

“I don’t think it’s going to keep zooming,” he says. “It’s leveling off. The boom is over. Too many artists jumped into country. A lot of the artists who are around now won’t be around in a year and a half. Tell you one thing: I wouldn’t open a country honky-tonk right now.”