2023 retread: Tony Justice's best of the best with 'Greatest Shifts' record

As we work toward counting down to the new year with our most-listened-to episodes of 2023 later this week, this special edition of Overdrive Radio separates one that stood out from the rest, our long talk with Tony Justice, who took listeners on a tour of his new record in August. Justice has been a leading light amongst trucker-songwriters, and the "Greatest Shifts" record features six new tracks (five originals plus a fantastic rendition of Jerry Reed's classic "Eastbound and Down") and 14 previously released highlights from four records -- "Apple Pie Moonshine," "Brothers of the Highway," "Stars Stripes and White Lines," and "18 Gears to Life." Those records comprise a decades' worth of music from Justice, excluding unfortunately his first trucking-themed record, "On the Road," for reasons he explains in the podcast.

Herein, my conversation with Justice about new material on the album and the background behind the production is interspersed with plenty opportunity to hear some of the music.

("On the Road" you can hear via this link.)

Overdrive Radio's sponsor is Among previously released material is a "dance remix" of Justice's “Last of the Cowboys” tune, first featured a couple of albums and a few years ago now. It’s arguably his absolute greatest shift in terms of its general popularity out there, as he notes in the podcast. But in other ways, as he also notes, all of these tracks have a special meaning for him. Listen on for more of the previously released material, all of it remastered and sweetened in various ways, and plenty discussion of the new material: