September 11, 2010

By Mikael Wood

The country veteran's first album for Toby Keith's Show Dog label seems well-suited to Keith's manly-man worldview. After offering up "Hold My Beer" and "This Ain't No Love Song," Trace Adkins closes "Cowboy's Back in Town" with a plain-talking ditty called "Whoop a Man's Ass," in which he admits that the high road isn't always his preferred route. Truth be told, Adkins' ninth studio disc contains its fair share of thoughtful sensitivity, too—it's demonstrated in "Still Love You," where the former "Celebrity Apprentice" contestant describes a devotion longer-lived than the moon or the ocean, and "Break Her Fall," a finely observed account of an angel's helpless attraction to "a long-haired country boy." (Think "Wings of Desire" crossed with "Splash.") The album's liveliest cut is the delightfully titled "Ala-Freakin-Bama," which recalls the hard-rocking boisterousness of Big & Rich. "I grew up on Skynyrd, and I'm a Bear Bryant fan," Adkins sings. Yep, sounds about right.

Subscribe to Billboard magazine today!