Nearly a decade and a half after he first came to America from Australia, Keith Urban has arrived in a major way as a global musical force. This accomplished singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has slowly but surely established himself as one of the most consistent and exciting talents not simply in country music, but in our music world as a whole.

Anyone who imagined that the massive success of "Be Here" and the flurry of honors that followed it would lead Urban to rest on his laurels is in for a big, bold and rather beautiful surprise. Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing, a multi-textured work, which Urban co-produced with longtime collaborator Dann Huff, is already being lauded as the most ambitious, accomplished and intimate album in Urban’s already impressive career.

Of "Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing", Urban says, “It’s just an accurate reflection of where I am now. I think it’s the sound of being happy with my life and passionate about the music that I’m making.” As for the album’s intriguing title, Urban explains, “It’s inspired by a great old movie called Love, Pain and the Whole Damned Thing. We just swapped the “Damned” for “Crazy,’ and it gave the right sense of how the album feels and what it’s all about. It’s about Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing. It’s about life. When the title came to me, it was obvious – it seemed to fit.”

Recorded and written with key collaborators from previous recordings including producer Dann Huff and engineer Justin Niebank, Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing seems set to generate another string of hit songs. Yet each and every one of them feels exceptionally fresh.

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