Blake Shelton (CD - 2001)

Personnel includes: Blake Shelton (vocals); Tim Lauer (piano, harmonium, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Bobby Braddock (arranger, string synthesizer); John Willis (acoustic guitar); Brent Rowan (electric guitar, sitar); Scott Sanders, Dan Dugmore (lap steel guitar); Alison Brown (banjo); David Davidson, David Angell (violin); Andrea Zonn, Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Kristin Wilkinson, Monisa Angell (viola); Anthony La Marchina (cello); Terry McMillian (harmonica); Mike Rojas (piano); Allison Prestwood (electric bass); Shannon Forrest (drums); Deborah Allen, Greg Barnhill, Alison Brown, Curtis Young, Dennis Wilson, Rachel Procter (background vocals).

Engineers include: Jim Dineen, Ed Seay, Clark Schleicher.

Personnel: John Willis (acoustic guitar); Brent Rowan (electric guitar, sitar); Dan Dugmore (steel guitar, lap steel guitar); Scott Sanders (lap steel guitar); Alison Brown (banjo); Steve Gibson (sitar); Connie Ellisor, Dave Greer, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale, Pamela Sixfin, David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Andrea Zonn, Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Jim Grosjean (viola); John Catchings, Anthony LaMarchina (cello); Terry McMillan (harmonica, Jew's harp); Tim Lauer (organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Shannon Forrest (drums, percussion); Chad Cromwell (drums); Curtis Young, Deborah Allen, Greg Barnhill (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Ed Seay; John Saylor.

Recording information: Cool Tools; MCA Publishing Studio; Ocean Way Nashville; Ocean Way, Nashville, TN; Recording Arts; Sound Shop; Sound Stage; SoundShop; Tree International Studio.

Photographer: Jim Shea.

This impressive ten-song compilation is an earnest debut full of lots of promise and originality. Shelton delivers a wealth of traditional country music in its most honest-to-goodness form, with his young, delightful cowboy-esque charm. The Oklahoma-bred Shelton sure can fire off a tune with the sincerest tenacity. Notables include "Austin," a tremendously imaginative song about getting back together with someone by leaving messages for one another on their answering machines; "I Thought There Was Time" about neglecting a relationship; and "Same Old Song" about an artist looking for some originality in country music today. Along with producer Bobby Braddock ("He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "D-I-V-O-R-C-E") and Shelton's "all-time musical hero," writer Earle Thomas Conley, the cast is rounded out on an album destined for musical greatness. ~ Maria Konicki Dinoia

Oklahoman Blake Shelton is firmly entrenched in the Nashville tradition of ballads with strings, unabashed sentimentality, and old-time rock & roll. The country staple subjects of dogs, women, and cars all make appearances in his workmanlike debut that aims straight for sound of heartland America.

Shelton has all the attributes of the quintessential Nashville male singer, from cowboy hat to his lonesome, world-weary tenor voice, and he's not shy about tugging at the heartstrings in songs such as "Austin" and "I Thought There Was Time," before rocking out on the blue-collar anthem "Same Old Song." There's a nod to country roots in "That's What I Call Home," while "Problems At Home" is equally preoccupied with domesticity, though this time comparing it with the laundry list of the world's woes featured on the nightly news. Blake Shelton is proof positive that there's always room in America's heart for tried and tested country themes and country sounds. minimize