No Ordinary Man (CD - 1994)

Personnel: Tracy Byrd (vocals); Pat Flynn, Steve Gibson (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (guitar); Weldon Myrick, Sonny Garrish (steel guitar); Johnny Lee Carpenter, Kenny Sears (fiddle); Mitch Humphreys (piano); John Barlow Jarvis (synthesizer); Glenn Worf, David Hungate (bass); Lonnie Wilson, Eddie Bayers (drums); Greg Gordon, Dennis Wilson, Curtis Young (background vocals).

Recorded at Sound Stage/Front Stage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel: Tracy Byrd (vocals, guitar); Weldon Myrick, Sonny Garrish (guitar, steel guitar); Pat Flynn, Steve Gibson (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar); Kenny Sears (fiddle); Mitch Humphries (piano); John Barlow Jarvis, John Jarvis (synthesizer); Lonnie Wilson, Eddie Bayers (drums); Curtis Young, Dennis Wilson , Greg Gordon (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Craig White; Lynn Peterzell.

Recording information: Front Stage Studio; Sound Stage.

Photographer: Keith Carter.

No Ordinary Man, Tracy Byrd's second album, was his breakthrough record and its easy to see why. While he was still sorting out the ins and outs of recording on his debut album, Byrd sounds raw, vibrant, and confident throughout No Ordinary Man, which is clear from the record's first single, "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous" and the first-rate weeper "The Keeper of the Stars." Byrd plays ballads and uptempo dance numbers equally well and his set of material on the album is fairly consistent, making the album his best to date. ~ Thom Owens

Texas drawl and honky tonk swagger in place, Tracy Byrd takes his young career a significant step further with his sophomore album NO ORDINARY MAN.

Byrd is one serious neo-traditionalist when it comes to keeping his sound true, and his authentic themes run the gamut of the country aesthetic. With subjects like the rodeo hero of "No Ordinary Man," the blue collar values of the nostalgic "Redneck Roses," the humor of the chart-topper "Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous," the downhome values in "Watermelon Crawl" (another #1 hit), and the enduring love of "The Keeper Of The Stars" ("I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars, he knew what he was doin', when he joined these two hearts..."), Byrd covers the map of a good ol' boy's heart and soul.

The instrumentation is pure, fiery fiddles and moaning steel guitars on the upbeat numbers and clean acoustic guitars on the ballads. With a sly grin in his vocal, Byrd's rich baritione bends notes and lyrics, creating a distinctive phrasing that harkens back to many legendary artists before him. On NO ORDINARY MAN, Tracy Byrd proves he is no ordinary country star. minimize