Stars & Stripes

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Muscle man Aaron Tippin is a two-trick pony. If it's knee-jerk patriotism you want, or even redneck cheek (though not chic), he's your man. On Stars & Stripes, he plays both themes for all they're worth but never reaches very high. The kickoff tune, "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly," pulls all the easy emotional strings--the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell--and romanticizes the U.S. as a nation where "hard work pays off the way it should." While his cocky Carolina delivery renders "I'll Take Love over Money" barely listenable, he generally fares better with the in-your-face, raggedy-ass material, as in "Honky Tonk If You Love Country," a lighthearted tune that pokes fun at the genre even as it charms with its Hank Williams-ish pedal steel. From then on, it's hit and miss--a duet with his wife, Thea, starts out strong and then peters out--but he scores again with Dennis Linde's funny "Five Gallon Tear" and his own "At the End of the Day," a reminder of what really matters in life. Unfortunately, Tippin, who coproduced the album, could use a little refresher on what really matters in picking songs, too. --Alanna Nash