Colt Ford's 2012 album, Declaration Of Independence. Photo courtesy of Average Joes Entertainment.

Colt Ford is back with his best album ever and all it took was a return to his roots.

"I went backwards," Colt says. "I went back to Ride Through The Country." Which is not to say Colt simply re-hashed his breakthrough album. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Declaration of Independence, released on Colt’s own Average Joes Entertainment, will no doubt go down as one of the most noteworthy releases this year, which is saying a lot for a man who has already sold nearly a million albums and three million downloads. From planting his patriotic flag on the album’s first track, "Answer to No One, "and closing the album with a prayer on the poetic, honest, and heartfelt "Angels and Demons," which features a conversation with God, the Athens, Georgia native has covered every human emotion on this record and then some.

Longtime collaborator Shannon "Fat Shan" Houchins handles production duties on the album; all-star producer Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts) also adds his skills to Colt’s groundbreaking effort.

In all, Colt wrote or co-wrote 14 of the album’s 15 tracks. "This album is very real and honest and by far the best record I’ve ever made," Colt says with pride. "The last two records—I stand up and cheer for them—but I tried to make a lot of people happy on the last two records and I took the edge off of it. On this record I put the edge back on there."

The former professional golfer and collaborator with Jermaine Dupri is used to adversity, taking country music by storm at a time when Nashville labels deemed him "not pretty enough" and country radio sees him as too distinct to add to their playlists.

The fact that Colt Ford is hard to categorize is exactly why he’s been successful. His fans appreciate his diverse musical talents by the boatloads, as a visit to one of his shows will prove.

Colt’s list of guest superstars on Declaration of Independence is an impressive one. Jason Aldean, for whom Colt co-wrote the smash "Dirt Road Anthem," lends his vocal talents to "Drivin’ Around," while Jake Owen adds his unique spin on "Back," the album’s first single.

"Jason and I tried to do songs on the last two records and we just hadn’t found the right song," Colt says of the duet with Jason. "As soon as I heard this one I knew it was the right song. It’s fun. It’s Jason being Jason and me being me."

And while it’s the lone song on the album Colt didn’t write—it was penned by hit tunesmiths Craig Wiseman, Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins—he calls "Drivin’ Around" a "gigantic" tune.

Similarly, Colt says he and Jake were just looking for the right song, which they found in "Back"— a very personal song that Colt co-wrote. With a strong hook and powerful verses, the song will make everyone that hears it want to call their mom and dad to talk about growing up.