Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Blake Shelton (acoustic guitar); Blake Shelton (vocals); Terry McMillan (whistling, whistle, harmonica, Jew's harp); John Willis, Bryan Sutton, Byrd Burton (acoustic guitar); Brent Rowan (electric guitar, bass guitar); Sonny Garrish (steel guitar); Connie Ellisor, David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Kris Wilkinson (viola); Carole Rabinowitz-Neuen (cello); Mike Rojas , Gordon Mote (piano); Tim Lauer (Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Bobby Braddock (Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer, mini-Moog synthesizer); Alison Prestwood (bass guitar); Shannon Forest, Shannon Forrest (drums); Ed Seay (cymbals); Shawn Simpson (shaker); Danny Myrick, Curtis Young, Dennis Wilson , John Wesley Ryles, Melodie Crittenden, Paul Overstreet, Wes Hightower, Blue Miller, Carl Jackson (background vocals); Paul Franklin (steel guitar, lap steel guitar); Jonathan Yudkin (violin, fiddle, viola, cello).

Audio Mixer: Ed Seay.

Recording information: Cool Tools Audio, Tracking Room; Emerald Sound Studios "Tracking Room"; Sony-Tree Studio.

Photographer: Señor McGuire.

Although he's delivered two promising albums, country singer Blake Shelton has had a bit of problem finding his own voice. On his first record, he was a hardcore country singer and on his second, 2003's The Dreamer, he tempered his country with anthemic heartland rock and contemporary Nashville songcraft. His third album, 2004's Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill, finds a happy medium between the two extremes. While he can still delve a little too deeply into country corn -- especially on the ballads -- he finds a happy balance between Nashville craft and pure country, throwing a bit of everyman charm and a little of Kenny Chesney's Jimmy Buffett fixation into the mix as well. All of this makes Shelton a bit of an all-purpose contemporary country singer -- he can do it all from the honky tonk ("Cotton Pickin' Time") to the beach ("Some Beach") and everywhere in between -- but since most of Barn & Grill has its heart in hardcore country, it winds up as his best, most assured album to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Blake Shelton's third album showcases a young country singer/songwriter with a penchant for storytelling and a willingness to mix poignancy and humor. On the opening track, "Some Beach," Shelton engages in a lighthearted romp highlighting the Jimmy Buffett influence that seemed to become more and more prevalent among country artists in the early 2000s. A tropical lilt is also present in the self-effacing "On a Good Day," which goes so far as to flirt with a reggae groove.

While Shelton delves into deeper emotions on "When Somebody Knows You That Well" and the grandly unfolding "The Bartender," perhaps the most striking moment on BARN & GRILL is the closing song, "I Drink." Penned by cult-favorite alt-country songwriter Mary Gauthier, it deftly traces a drinking problem back to a troubled childhood and an alcoholic father, with no sentimentalism whatsoever, using punchy, sardonic songcraft to deliver a powerful message that could very easily have come off heavy-handed. It's a fine way to end an album, and a hopeful sign of what could be around the corner on Shelton's fourth. minimize