Set for release August 19, Nashville Outlaws features such artists as Rascal Flatts, Florida Georgia Line, LeAnn Rimes, Justin Moore, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Darius Rucker performing 15 different M�tley Cr�e classics including "Home Sweet Home," "Live Wire" and "Kickstart My Heart."

"The Big Machine guys [and label president] Scott Borchetta said, 'Hey we want to do a country tribute album to M�tley Cr�e,'" lead singer Vince Neil told Radio.com about the project during a chat on the ACM Awards red carpet this spring. "It seemed like a crazy idea to me, but hey, it actually is working out!"

"I just heard the Mavericks' version of 'Dr. Feelgood' the other day," Neil continued. "There's just some really cool artists doing M�tley Cr�e stuff, and even M�tley Cr�e tracks that I forgot we even did! So they're digging deep in our repertoire and doing some cool stuff with it. So it's really, really exciting."

Neil said that until recently he wasn't too familiar with the contemporary country scene, though he did listen to some classic artists when he was younger.

"My dad's from Paris, Texas, and he's an old country boy," Neil said. "The only country I was exposed to was my dad's, it was Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. I don't remember specific songs, but all good classic stuff."

We had to wonder, then: were country artists like those two ever in the back of his head when he was recording with M�tley Cr�e? "You grow up with stuff, it's always there," Neil said with a smile.

As for today's country sound, Neil likes what he hears. "Now I"m getting into the new stuff and going, 'that's rock and roll stuff.' Rock and roll today is now young country guys. It's cool."