Dreamin Out Loud

Trace Adkins is deservedly one of country's brightest young stars of the late 1990s, a new-school traditionalist with a strong voice that prowls the octaves, and songs that empathize with country's working-man roots. Most importantly, though, he has an excellent sense of humor--Adkins's songs delight in clever wordplay, double entendres, and smart, funny lines that might make even non-country fans smile. The highlight here is the country hit "I Left Something Turned on at Home," which as you might suspect, isn't the iron, but rather his wife. Elsewhere he hits all the traditional themes: tough guys falling in love, cheatin' spouses, and odes to Texas. --David Daley