The Truth About Men (CD - 2003)

Personnel includes: Tracy Byrd (vocals); Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (acoustic & electric guitars); John Goux, B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Troy Lancaster, Brent Mason, Reggie Young, Michael Thompson (electric guitar);

Dan Dugmore (steel guitar, dobro); Paul Franklin, Jaydee Maness (steel guitar); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); Stuart Duncan, Gabe Witcher (fiddle); John Jarvis (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizer); Jim Cox, John Hobbs (piano); Leland Sklar, Glenn Worf (bass); Paul Leim (drums, percussion); John Robinson (drums); Eric Darken (percussion).

Producers: Billy Joe Walker, Jr., Tracy Byrd.

Principally recorded at Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel: Montgomery Gentry, Andy Griggs, Blake Shelton (vocals); Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); B. James Lowry (acoustic guitar); Carey Stone, Michael Hart Thompson , Reggie Young , Troy Lancaster, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Dan Dugmore (steel guitar, dobro); JayDee Mannes, Mark Matoska, Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); John Lee Carpenter , Gabe Witcher, Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Stacy Clark, Larry Shelton (trumpet); John Jarvis (piano, synthesizer); Randall Dennis, Jim Cox, John Hobbs (piano); Paul Leim (drums, percussion); John "J.R." Robinson , Billy Carpenter (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); John J. Moore, John Wesley Ryles, Lisa Cochran, Neil Thrasher, Wes Hightower, Liana Manis (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Ed Seay; Bob Bullock.

Recording information: Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, TN; Far West Rodeo, El Paso, TX; Our Place Studio, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Russ Harrington.

Tracy Byrd is a bit of a goofball, which is a compliment. Unlike his second wave new traditionalist brethren, he realizes that a good part of country music is having a good time, and he refuses to take things too seriously. Add to that a good taste in songwriters -- something that can be particularly difficult for his peers, especially in terms of ballads -- and you have somebody who's a reliable record maker, somebody who always has a good joke and a good ballad at hand. Since he's so consistent, he's easy to underrate, because he makes it all seem easy and he does it with a smile. A smash hit like "Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo" can provide an opportunity to reassess an artist, or at least to take stock of what he has to offer, and that happened with Byrd's 2001 album, Ten Rounds, yet another solid record that stood out from the pack due to that great song. For his follow-up, 2003's The Truth About Men, Byrd could have used that big hit to try something else, but he doesn't. He sticks to his tried and true neo-honky tonk and contemporary country ballad formula. But if a formula works, why try to change it? And The Truth About Men proves that the formula does work, offering smiles and slow dances in equal measure, all delivered with an offhand, guy-next-door charm from Byrd. Sometimes the slow tunes get a little too slow, sometimes the uptempo numbers are a little too silly (the title track has a good premise but some of the jibes don't quite work, not least because the Die Hard 4 mentioned in the second verse as a film preference doesn't even exist), but these are minor quibbles since this is a fun record. It has good-time party songs like the cheerful "Drinkin' Bone" (which is connected to the "party bone," after all) and "How'd I Wind Up in Jamaica," which does Jimmy Buffett better than "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," Buffett's duet with Alan Jackson that was a smash hit the summer The Truth About Men was released, as well as good ballads like Rodney Crowell's "Making Memories of Us." By the time the record closes with a live version of "Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo," you're beyond wondering why it's here and just enjoying the ride. True, this album doesn't offer much different than other Byrd records, but song for song, it's one of his finest efforts and a hell of a lot of fun. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Much like its half-dozen predecessors, Tracy Byrd's seventh album steers about as close to traditional country as it's possible to get and still hear your songs on the radio. Byrd's choice of songs here ranges from the sentimental ("Tiny Town," When You Go") to the Jimmy Buffet-style faux-reggae of "How'd I Wind Up in Jamaica," with nods to the old-fashioned drinking song in both "Drinkin' Bone" and a bonus live version of "Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo."

With its plain-spoken, honest-to-goodness quality country, THE TRUTH ABOUT MEN may deliver few surprises, but that's precisely what's reassuring and appealing about it. It's undeniably country music--there are no nods here to any contemporary trends past 1972--and Byrd's good-natured delivery and broad appeal ensure it'll receive a wide audience. minimize