A few new wrinkles mark this attempt to elevate Blake Shelton from promising hitmaker into the upper echelon of country hunks. While veteran producer Bobby Braddock, who has previously served as Shelton's studio mentor, handles four tracks, Brent Rowan and Paul Worley give more edge and sheen to some of the others. The closing "The Last Country Song," an anti-sprawl anthem, features brief cameos from George Jones and Jon Anderson. And Shelton collaborates on the writing of three key tracks, including the harder-rocking, hicker-than-thou "This Can't Be Good," the kickoff track. Yet Shelton's strength remains his ability to balance romantic balladry--such as "I Don't Care," which employs the same phone-call reversal as his "Austin" breakthrough"--with good-ol'-boy honky-tonk ("The More I Drink"). And his rendition of Chris Knight's "It Ain't Easy Bein' Me" highlights the selection of consistently strong material. --Don McLeese
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