George Strait's 2009 CD, Twang, photo courtesy of MCA Nashville.

On the cover of George Strait’s new album, TWANG, he sits in the driver’s seat of a classic American Cadillac, strumming a toy guitar and mugging for the camera. It’s an unexpectedly playful photo for the Texas superstar, yet it perfectly captures the animated energy he’s recently infused into his never-out-of-style brand of country music.

"When I got into that old Caddy, there was a little guitar lying in the front seat," George says of the photo shoot. "I picked it up and started clowning around with it, and the photographer kept shooting. It’s not a staged shot, by any means. When I started going through the pictures, I saw this shot and thought it fit the feel of TWANG I was looking for."

In other words, George remains in the driver seat—not just on the album cover, but as the person gunning the engine behind his on-the-move career. With a fresh string of No. 1 hits, his first Grammy Award for Best Country Album and two consecutive CMA Awards for Album of the Year plus honors for Song and Single of the Year, George is as hot as ever—and, as always, he seems to know just what will work best for him and for his time.

On TWANG, he slips off into rocking country, Cajun and even a mariachi tune sung in Spanish, mixing it up with the wise ballads and dance-floor boot scooters that are as much a part of him as his comes-to-it-naturally Western look. As always, George epitomizes what makes modern country music so relevant and so entertaining. And, as always, he makes it look so easy.

The most important development on TWANG can be found in the songwriting credits. George co-wrote three songs for his new album including the debut single, "Living for the Night," which shot up the radio charts so quickly that MCA Nashville had to move the street date of the album. George’s first songwriting contributions since his debut album were a direct result of writing with his son Bubba George.

"My son’s desire to write really inspired me," George says. "After writing a few songs with Bubba, I had the idea to call and see if Dean Dillon wanted to come to my ranch and write with us. He did, we had a great time, and we were able to come up with a few songs."

"It makes a papa proud to have my son contributing to the creation of this record," George admits. "We had a great time writing with each other and then Dean adding his magic made it even more special. I hope the people who buy this record have as much fun listening to it as I had making it."

George always knew TWANG would be something different—and special. "When I was putting this album together I knew that I wanted to put some original material on it," George says. "That’s something I hadn't done in a good while."

Producer Tony Brown sensed this spark, too. Coming off of back-to-back award-winning albums, George returned to Shrimpboat Sound Studio in Key West, Florida—owned by George’s friend Jimmy Buffett—determined to take chances and stretch himself. "The thing I love about George is he never gets stagnant," says Brown, one of country music’s most legendary producers. "He knows just how far he can push the envelope without breaking it. He likes to try new things, but he always stays within what he can do best, too."