Time Marches On (CD - 1996)

Personnel: Tracy Lawrence (vocals, guitars); Brent Mason (acoustic & electric guitars); Larry Byrom, Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar); Brent Rowan (electric guitar, mandolin); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Bruce C. Bouton (pedal steel, slide guitar); Joe Spivey (banjo, fiddle); Hank Singer, Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Dennis Burnside (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Flip Anderson (piano, keyboards); Dave Pomeroy, Glenn Worf (bass); Milton Sledge, Lonnie Wilson (drums, percussion); Terry McMillan (percussion); Liana Manis, Deryl Dodd, Dennis Wilson, John Wesley Ryles (background vocals).

Producers: Tracy Lawrence, Flip Anderson (tracks 1, 5-7, 9); Don Cook (tracks 2-4, 8, 10).

Engineers: Butch Carr (tracks 1, 5-7, 9); Mike Bradley (tracks 2-4, 8, 10).

Recorded at The Soundshop Recording Studios and Tree Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.

All songs written or co-written by Larry Boone and Paul Nelson except "Is That A Tear" (John Jarrard/Kenny Beard), "If You Loved Me" (Paul Nelson/Tom Shapiro), "Time Marches On" (Bobby Braddock) and "I Know That Hurt By Heart" (Thom McHugh/J.B. Rudd).

A lot of modern country music is about adopting a persona and sticking to it; for variety, the smart country singer inserts the chosen persona into new surroundings and hunts for new conflicts. Tracy Lawrence wears the same hat and boots as the rest of them, and no doubt has a similar collection of Eagles and Bruce Springsteen records, but he derives his authenticity from an altogether different source. He's real because he sings from the point of view of a real human being (albeit one with an exaggerated baritone drawl); he has failings, he deals with them and he actually tries to change. TIME MARCHES ON, his fifth album, celebrates growth in a way that few country singers attempt.

On a blues shuffle called "Excitable Boy" (not the Warren Zevon song, though it may well be an homage) and the breezy "Speed Of A Fool," Lawrence plays the young, reckless soul. On other songs he does an accounting of that soul, which for Lawrence means more than simply drowning sorrows with a shot and a beer. Though he does wind up at a bar on the ballad "Different Man," and though he knows his girl will forever be with somebody else, he takes an inner inventory and walks out vowing, "I'm leaving here a different man tonight." On "Is That A Tear," which finds him deconstructing an ex's phone message, Lawrence looks for a sign of renewal where more traditional singers might settle for resignation. The more things change, it has been said, the more they stay the same. Lawrence upends that old-hat wisdom on the title track. "The only thing that stays the same," he swears, "is everything changes."

Personnel: Tracy Lawrence (vocals, guitar); Brent Mason (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Larry Byrom, Mark Casstevens, Mike Brown (acoustic guitar); Butch Davis (electric guitar, slide guitar); Brent Rowan (electric guitar); Bruce Bouton (slide guitar); Tom Baughman, Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Rob Hajocos (fiddle, percussion); Billy Cochran , Hank Singer, Joe Spivey (fiddle); Flip Anderson (piano, keyboards); Dennis Burnside (piano); Lonnie Wilson, Vic Mastrianni, Milton Sledge (drums); Terry McMillan (percussion); Dennis Wilson , Deryl Dodd, John Wesley Ryles, Liana Manis (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Mike Bradley; Butch Carr.

Recording information: Criteria Studios, Miami, FL; Music Mill, Nashville, TN; The Soundshop Recording Studios, Nashville, TN; Tree Studio, Nashville, TN.

Photographers: John Walker; Mike Rutherford.

Tracy Lawrence's Time Marches On, the singer's fourth album, is another crowd-pleasing set of contemporary country. Like his previous albums, the song selection is a hit-or-miss affair, with about half of the songs failing to make much of an impression. The remainder, however, proves why Lawrence is one of the most popular singers in Nashville. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize