CD Reviews- Trace Adkins- Cowboy’s Back In Town

The Background:
Trace Adkins' new album, Cowboy's Back in Town arrives today- August 17, 2010. It's his first album for Show Dog-Universal Music, the label headed by Toby Keith and producer Mark Wright. Adkins co-wrote the title track with Jeff Bates and Kenny Beard. In addition, Beard co-produced the 11-track album with Michael Knox, best known for producing Jason Aldean. A deluxe package is also be available with four additional tracks, including "Hillbilly Bone," his collaboration with Blake Shelton. Overall, he has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the Number One hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", "Ladies Love Country Boys", and "You're Gonna Miss This."

The Review:
On this first album on Toby Keith’s label, Trace Adkins ramps up the redneck bravado and testosterone-filled swagger with Cowboy’s Back In Town. While each of Adkins previous albums have had some rockier moments (ala “HonkyTonkBadonkadonk” or “Chrome”), this one is decidedly more edgy and rockier. With a couple exceptions, there’s little here to remind us of the softer side of Adkins- past singles such as “Muddy Water” and “Arlington” come to mind. If he appealed to the soccer mom crowd previously with “You’re Gonna Miss This,” this album has certainly retargeted a younger, more southern rock crowd. That’s easy to see with Cowboy’s Back In Town titles such as “Whoop A Man’s Ass”, “Hold My Beer”, “Ala-Freakin-Bama” and the getting-busy-in-the-hayloft rocker “Brown Chicken Brown Cow.” There certainly are positive & critical highlights, however. His first single to radio, “This Ain’t No Love Song”, is a terrific starter complete with a throwaway line that it “may not be on the radio… but you never know.” “Hell, I Can Do That” is a cute novelty song celebrating blissful ignorance- right down to comparisons and genius rhymes with Matthew McConaughey. Ironically, it’s when he slows things down a bit that that deep baritone conveys the most emotion- most notably on the pretty soft piano ballad “Still Love You.” “Break Her Fall”, a song about two young souls using each other as they learn about the world, has one of the better lines I’ve heard sung lately in “She used me like a razor blade to cut the ties that bind.” But for each one of those tender moments, there’s heaping amounts of loud southern pride, with stadium rock-style production- right down to the puzzling half-talk half-rap song finish by Trailer Choir on “Don’t Mind If I Don’t”, a celebration to being lazy.

Sounds Like:
Jason Aldean rocking with Josh Turner’s voice with a couple of Joe Diffie novelty songs

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):This Ain’t No Love Song
Cowboy’s Back In Town
Hell, I Can Do That
Still Love You
Break Her Fall

The Verdict:
Three And A Half Stars Out Of Five