Billy Currington (CD - 2002)

Personnel: Billy Currington (vocals); John D. Willis (acoustic guitar, banjo); Brent Mason (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Gary Prim, Gordon Mote (keyboards); W. David Smith (bass); Eddie Bayers (drums); John W. Ryles (background vocals).

Recorded at The Castle, Sound Station and Backstage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Billy Currington is not the kind of contemporary country singer who feels a need to be visually redundant. Leaving his hat and boots at home, Currington, clad in plain white T-shirt and blue jeans strikes us as a regular, blue-collar guy from Georgia who just happens to have a certain way with his smooth baritone and a clever turn of phrase. This self-titled debut is a well-balanced effort featuring both good timey up-tempo numbers with a sense of humor ("Off My Rocker," "Where the Girls Are") and moving ballads of emotional poignance ("Hangin' Around" and "Time with You").

The hit single "Walk a Little Straighter" tells the story of a young boy pleading with his father, whom he otherwise adores, to sober up. On "That's Just Me," the singer expresses simple, straightforward nuggets by way of explaining himself: "I've never even been to Mars but I'm a man/And I accept the fact that women are just hard to understandàbut that's just me." With classic neo-trad country backing throughout (steel guitar, fiddle, twangy Fender, and extremely minimal string pads), Currington makes himself right at home on the charts with this heartfelt, convincing, and very promising debut. minimize