Greatest Hits Collection, Vol. 1 (CD - 2003)

Producers: Scott Hendricks, Trey Bruce, Dann Huff, Paul Worley, Bobby Terry.

Recorded between 1996 & 2002.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Photographers: Pamela Springsteen; Michael Lavine; Nigel Parry; Mark Tucker .

Released four albums and seven years into Trace Adkins' career, Greatest Hits Collection, Vol. 1 summarizes the first part of his career quite nicely. During this time, he had 13 singles on the Billboard country charts -- including the Top Ten hits "Every Light in the House," "I Left Something Turned On at Home," "The Rest of Mine," "More," "I'm Tryin'," and the number one "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" -- and this contains all but one, the minor hit "I'm Gonna Love You Anyway." The other two cuts on this 14-track collection are new, and one -- the sentimental "Then They Do," which finds Adkins watching his kids grow up -- also went to number one, making this a good collection of Adkins at his best. He may not have been one of the flashiest country singers of the '90s, but thanks to his deep baritone, his music was sturdy and reliable, as is this fine collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The optimistically titled GREATEST HITS COLLECTION VOL. 1 encapsulates the first seven years in the career of Trace Adkins, who made a huge splash on the country scene with his 1996 debut. That auspicious album is represented by the hits "(This Ain't No) Thinkin' Thing," "There's a Girl in Texas," and "I Left Something Turned on at Home," all of which presented Adkins as the acceptable face of new country, polished enough for '90s Nashville, but with roots enough to give him credibility (he'd even done some time in a gospel group).

Successive albums followed an essentially similar path, mixing ballads and honky-tonkers in equal measure. The title track of 2001's CHROME strays a bit from the pattern, sounding like a mix of Shania Twain and Steve Miller, but one of the two new, previously unreleased tracks is the brightest indication of Adkins's future. "Welcome to Hell" is a post-9/11 song that's miles ahead of Alan Jackson and Toby Keith's efforts toward that end, replacing breast-beating jingoism and intellectual laziness with a much more subtle, even humorous approach well-served by Adkins's rich baritone. minimize