By Andrew W. Griffin

pop writer

Back in August, country music singer Tracy Lawrence was scheduled to play at Riverwind Casino, but he suddenly became sick.

"For five or six weeks, I was pretty sick," Lawrence told pop in a phone interview from his home in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. "I had H1N1 and pneumonia. It hit me a little harder because I'm asthmatic."

"It knocked me down pretty hard," he added.

Healthy again and ready to hit the Riverwind stage Saturday night, Lawrence touring behind his recently released album "The Rock" out on his label Rocky Comfort Records, said his new music has a more inspirational gospel sound with some overtly Christian-oriented lyrics.

Listening to "The Rock," it's clear Lawrence has embraced Christian and inspirational themes, some even incorporate gospel and revival sounds.

"Jesus Come Talk To Your Children" is a catchy number, while the recent single, "Up To Him," sounds as good as anything he has recorded in his nearly two-decade country music career.

"Sonically, as far as I'm concerned, it's not far removed (musically) from things I've recorded in the past," Lawrence said, adding the songs lean to the more "positive side," while still staying within the boundaries of traditional country.

And for a guy who has big country hits like "Sticks and Stones," "Alibis," "Paint Me a Birmingham" and "Find Out Who Your Friends Are," he admits it was a little frustrating when country radio didn't embrace songs from "The Rock."

"It's a lot of politics," he said. "They look for an excuse not to play a song. I thought ["The Rock"] was very mainstream country. I thought it was very appropriate."

And from what Lawrence says, audiences are embracing the new material.

He played Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth and received his largest standing ovation when he played three new songs from "The Rock," which he said is quite a feat, particularly in a rowdy honky-tonk like Billy Bob's.

Lawrence said the Riverwind audience can expect to hear him play several of his older tunes during his almost two-hour stage performace at Riverwind.

"There's not a lot of smoke and mirrors, just a lot of good music," he said.