become a No. 1 pop and country hit in 1960. Robbins was arguably the most surefooted and accomplished singer in all country music, and that was never more obvious than on these Western ballads performed to often breathtaking perfection with a very small group and a vocal trio. Other titles include "Big Iron" (also a Top 30 hit), "Running Gun," and Western classics like "Cool Water," "Billy the Kid," and "The Strawberry Roan." Three extra tracks flesh out the 1999 release, including "Saddle Tramp" (the B-side of "Big Iron") and "The Hanging Tree" (title song from the 1959 Gary Cooper Western). --Colin Escott  (less)

McGraw Def Leppard, Great Britain's premiere arena rock band, is back with a bang--kicking off 2008 with the release of their 14th studio album and a U.S. arena concert tour scheduled for this spring. Entitled Songs From The Sparkle Lounge (Bludgeon Riffola/Island/UMe), the album contains 11 new songs including the highly-anticipated single "Nine Lives" featuring a groundbreaking collaboration with country music superstar Tim McGraw. Songs From The Sparkle Lounge is Def Leppard's first album of brand new material since 2002's X and begins yet another remarkable new chapter in the band's 30-year recording career. Recorded last year during month-long stints at lead singer Joe Elliott's Dublin studio, the album's title refers to a bac...  (less)

and the weary road song that closes it ("Headed South"), Van Zant balance down-home party rockers such as "Goes Down Easy" and "It's Only Money" with the more serious balladry of "We Can't Do It Alone" (a spiritual sequel of sorts to "Get Right With the Man"), "That Scares Me," and "The Hardest Thing." Though the title song is little more than a banjo-laced string of country clichés and "These Colors Don't Run" is a patriotic bumper sticker, this solid sophomore effort should win the brotherly duo more country fans. --Don McLeese  (less)

weight of it--by inviting George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. to appear in spoken-word bits which bookend the record. (The Possum also contributes a weak cameo on "4th of July.") But such shilling comes off as exactly what it is, and the listener knows to expect a song about how awful Nashville is and how modern country just ain't got no soul. Jennings does not disappoint--in fact, he's got a couple tunes like that (the Neil Young-based title track and "Solid Country Gold"), and he also obliges with an Outlaw penchant for self-mythologizing ("Busted in Baylor County," about being jailed for speeding and smoking). The younger Jennings doesn't have his father's commanding baritone, his mother's delicate balance of pathos and strength, or even th...  (less)

Is a Highway," Sugarland's "Baby Girl," and Faith Hill's "Lucky One." Songs: Life Is A Highway Baby Girl Living In Fast Forward Who Says You Can't Go Home Jesus Take The Wheel Better Life Lucky One What Hurts The Most Something's Got To Give Why The World Leave The Pieces Mr. Mom Suds In The Bucket  (less)

Ain't Been Able" from Hank Williams Jr's groundbreaking "Family Tradition" album and a stone ground Country version of George Jones's 1972 classic "A Day In The Life Of A Fool". The balance of repertoire includes three songs from 2004's "Saving The Hondy Tonk", including a new acoustic version of the haunting "A Hard Secret To Keep". "Heard It In A Love Song" offers something for everybody--a solid body of great songs from a most-bankable voice. Produced by Jimmy Ritchie and Mark Chesnutt.  (less)

rounds, Black adds some cowboy philosophizing ("Code of the West"), a plea for a return to purer country or better farmland ("Too Much Rock"), and a glimmer of spirituality ("Back Home in Heaven"). With Black producing and writing (or at least collaborating on) all of the material, the results aren't quite as consistent as they were in his hitmaking heyday. He suffers a novelty low with "Undercover Cowboy," about a seductive schemer who "only wants to know how to get under the cover with you," yet channels the dance-floor inspiration of Bob Wills with the twin fiddles of "Heartaches" and the breezy swing of "I Don't Wanna Tell You." Wherever the music takes him, there's a whole lot of Texas in these tracks. --Don McLeese More ...  (less)

time on this 17-cut compilation disc, which, despite its title, actually includes four new songs, one rerecording, and a remix. Amid soppy country-pop chart fodder ("Me and You," "When I Close My Eyes") and second-rate ditties ("How Forever Feels," "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy"), Chesney hits his stride on robust country ballads like "You Had Me from Hello" and the lead single "I Lost It." On other gems--like "That's Why I'm Here," a heartfelt tribute to the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program that topped the charts a while back; "Baptism," a great duet with Randy Travis; and his fine rerecording of "Tin Man," the song that launched his career in the mid '90s--Chesney even manages to attain an ephemeral but utterly moving tran...  (less)

at 80 miles an hour, with the top down and the stereo blasting. Clapton and King may be more city than country, but this collection has the relaxed, laid-back feel that only comes from a pair of veterans doing what they do best. What they do here is cover 12 classic blues songs, many of them staples of King's repertoire, so the title of this album makes sense. Whether it's the rollicking rock & roll of the title track, or the acoustic shuffle of "Key to the Highway," or the sweet notes of "When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer," a real sense of pleasure comes through on this album, the kind of pleasure one gets from jamming late at night with a good friend. --Genevieve Williams  (less)

Overall, it's a set of amiable country pop, but the title track and "What About Georgia?," which open the disc, are rock songs at heart--driven by a hard-smacked snare drum and layers of guitar. But what's really at the core of these excellent performances is Lambert's romantic lyrics and versatile singing. When she's playing the angry lover in "Kerosene," she's loaded with punky attitude. When she's brokenhearted and moving on in "New Strings," her soft, delicate tones and gentle phrasing perfectly capture a rich blend of sadness and hope. There's even a bit of Dolly Parton's sweet vibrato and rustic charm in "Me and Charlie Talking," a nostalgic contemplation on love and life's simple virtues. Lambert authored or co-penned 11 o...  (less)

Texas , many of George Strait's songs are semiautobiographical and ring with authenticity. The title track portrays a man who's weary of the road and yearns to stay home with his family; "Texas" salutes the state that made him what he is; and "You'll Be There," the heartfelt single that talks of meeting a loved one in the afterlife, likely hits a nerve with the singer, who lost a child some years ago. Strait also does well with the terrible twins of country dance-hall fare, misery and grief--particularly on the honky-tonk weeper "Ready for the End of the World" and the killer ballad "Good News, Bad News," a duet with Lee Ann Womack, who cowrote the tune with Dean Dillon and Dale Dodson. Womack sings rings around her fellow Texan...  (less)

of listening to Loretta Lynn and the late Tammy Wynette in her younger days. With Born to Fly , her third album, Evans continues her descent from the neo-traditional high ground and her move uptown. She makes it clear she's also listened quite a bit to the likes of Trisha Yearwood and Bruce Hornsby, whose "Every Little Kiss" she ably covers here. On the exuberant title tune and on fine country-pop ballads like "I Could Not Ask for More" and the lovely "Saints and Angels," Evans proves she can just as sweetly and deftly patrol the uptown territory as she can the down-home highlands, which she revisits on the steel guitar-adorned weeper "I Learned That from You." Though not every song on Born to Fly insinuates its way into listeners' imaginati...  (less)