Editing Randy Travis (section)

===1992{{ndash}}1995: ''Wind in the Wire'' and ''This Is Me''===
Travis took a hiatus from touring in 1992 and 1993, citing exhaustion as the reason for doing so.{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|page=126}} He and Hatcher chose to spend time at a property in [[Maui]] they had acquired. According to Travis, the touring hiatus caused some fans and news reporters to believe he had retired,<ref name="new album">{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQgEAAAAMBAJ | title=New Warner set returns Travis to country spotlite | magazine=Billboard |author=Jim Bessman |pages=14, 127 | date=April 13, 1994 | accessdate=January 19, 2024 }}</ref> so his publicists issued press releases indicating he was "merely taking a break".{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|page=127}} During the hiatus, he released an album of [[Western music (North America)|Western music]] titled ''[[Wind in the Wire]]'', a tie-in to a television movie [[Wind in the Wire (film)|of the same name]] in which he starred.<ref name="allmusic"/> The album was produced by session guitarist Steve Gibson, making it his first since the Randy Ray album not to be produced by Kyle Lehning.{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|page=130}} It was commercially unsuccessful, with none of its singles reaching top 40 on the ''Billboard'' charts.<ref name="allmusic"/> However, lead single "[[Cowboy Boogie]]" reached number 10 on the Canadian country music charts then published by ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.2282&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.2282.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.2282 | title=RPM 100 Country Tracks | publisher=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] | date=October 30, 1993 | accessdate=January 19, 2024}}</ref> Travis and one of his managers later attributed the album's commercial failure to its [[Western swing]] sound proving unpopular with radio.<ref name="new album"/>

In late 1993, Travis began working on a follow-up album with Lehning when he was contacted by a representative for the then-under construction [[MGM Grand Las Vegas]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]. The representative wanted Travis to be the first country artist to perform at the new venue once it opened, which inspired Travis to begin touring again. He and Hatcher joined with Jeff Davis, another former manager of Travis's who was then working with [[Brother Phelps]], to assemble a backing band for the Las Vegas shows, which included Lehning as keyboardist.{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|pages=131, 132}} The Las Vegas shows, held in early 1994, were his first concerts in over 14 months.<ref name="new album"/> Due to the success of these shows, Travis resumed his touring schedule soon afterward. He re-established his existing touring band and performed at a showcase of Warner Bros. artists held in Nashville during the Country Radio Seminar, an annual promotional concert series held by [[Country Radio Broadcasters]].{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|pages=131, 132}}<ref name="new album"/> At the same time, Travis continued writing and compiling songs for his next studio album. "[[Before You Kill Us All]]" was released on February 28, 1994,<ref name="new album"/> as the lead single to his next Warner album ''[[This Is Me (Randy Travis album)|This Is Me]]''.<ref name="allmusic"/> The song peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' country charts.{{sfn|Whitburn|2017|pages=365, 366}} Travis and Lehning chose the song because the two wanted "story songs and some with a wink of humor".{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|page=133}} Similarly, he told ''Billboard'' in 1994 that the song was an example of a more modern and "rowdy" sound he wanted to achieve relative to his prior albums.<ref name="new album"/> It was followed later in the year by "[[Whisper My Name]]", his fifteenth number-one on ''Billboard''.{{sfn|Whitburn|2017|pages=365, 366}} The album's [[This Is Me (Randy Travis song)|title track]] and "[[The Box (Randy Travis song)|The Box]]" were both top-ten hits between late 1994 and early 1995 as well.{{sfn|Whitburn|2017|pages=365, 366}} Travis wrote "The Box" with Buck Moore and later said he became emotional writing and performing the song, as its theme of a father struggling to express love to his children reminded him of his own "fractured" relationship with his father.{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|page=133}}

Bob Saporiti, then an executive at Warner Bros. Nashville, noted that the failure of ''Wind in the Wire'' and length of time since ''High Lonesome'' had created "angst" among label executives, but added that they considered ''This Is Me'' "back to the basics".<ref name="new album"/> To promote the album, Travis hosted an episode of the TNN talk show ''Music City Tonight''; the network also re-aired the Country Radio Seminar concert.<ref name="new album"/> Jurek praised the lyrical contributions of Trey Bruce, [[Larry Gatlin]], and [[Kieran Kane]], and considered "Whisper My Name" to be "among the greatest songs Travis has ever recorded".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-me-mw0000115016 | title=''This Is Me'' |author=Thom Jurek | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=January 19, 2024 }}</ref> Nash thought that the lyrics of the singles were among Travis's strongest, also stating that the album had "zippier instrumental touches" than his 1980s albums.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ew.com/article/1994/04/29/this-me/ | title=''This Is Me'' review | publisher=Entertainment Weekly | date=April 29, 1994 | accessdate=January 19, 2024}}</ref> Additionally, Larkin stated that the album was "as strong as ever".<ref name="virgin"/> By mid-1994, ''This Is Me'' was certified gold by the RIAA.<ref name="riaa"/> Despite spending most of 1995 without a charted single,{{sfn|Whitburn|2017|pages=365, 366}} Travis continued to tour throughout the year alongside [[Sammy Kershaw]] and George Jones.{{sfn|Travis|Abraham|2019|page=135}}