It’s been 20 years since Toby Keith released his 10th studio album Honkytonk University, and it’s looking and sounding better than ever. Literally. Three music videos from the album—“Big Blue Note,” “Honkytonk U” and “As Good As I Once Was”—have been remastered and are now available to watch in HD. In addition, the whole album has also been remastered by engineer Mills Logan and is now available in immersive Dolby Atmos audio.
Keith passed away last year, but enthusiasm from country music fans has not faded. In fact, it’s just the opposite; over the past year, “As Good As I Once Was” has taken on a new life thanks to TikTok and a recent cover from Post Malone. Even 20 years ago, Keith knew that there was something special about this song and its potential longevity. The musician called it “Probably my favorite song on the album,” adding, “I can always tell when I’ve got a special one as soon as I get done.”
Of course, plenty of fans can see themselves in the autobiographical details of Keith’s writing, and the aptly titled Honkytonk University remains a favorite of many college students. The album title was inspired by Keith’s affinity for Oklahoma University, which was so fervent that someone asked him if he had attended the school. He didn’t. “I graduated from the school of hard knocks,” he recalled saying. “I went to Honkytonk U. It just sounded like a title.” Later, when asked by Billboard how autobiographical the title track was, Keith responded. “Dead on. 100%.”
Though Keith described the album as “the most stone-country album I’ve ever done,” he also recognized how it pushed him into sonic territory he hadn’t yet fully explored. “I’ve never written anything quite like it,” Keith said of standout track “Big Blue Note,” which he wrote with frequent collaborator Scotty Emerick. “It’s just one of those things that happens to you as a songwriter. You’re going to write enough of them that one’s going to end up psychedelic.”
Listen to Toby Keith’s Honkytonk University in Dolby Atmos now.
