Sawdust (CD - 2007)

Personnel: Joe Barnhill, Joe Bob Barnhill (acoustic guitar); Andy Rees (electric guitar); Alan Huff (accordion); Dennis Wage (Hammond b-3 organ); R.P. Harrell (keyboards); Chuck Young, Doug Deforest, Chuck Young, Amy Driesel (background vocals); Tim Crouch (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle); Robby Springfield (electric guitar, steel guitar, dobro); Travis Toy (dobro); Andrew Frye (piano); Mike Kennedy (drums, percussion); Billy Joe French, Sarah Jo Roark, Joe Young (background vocals); The Cuttin' Crew.

Additional personnel: Eddy Raven, Gary P. Nunn.

Audio Mixer: Warren Peterson.

Recording information: Caravell Studios, Branson, MO; Lake Paradise Studios, Cherokee Village, AR; Paul Chris Studio, Houston, TX; Raney Recording Studio, Drasco, AR; South Sharp Country Kitchen, Strawberry, AR; Travis Toy Studio, Nashville, TN; Westwood Studio, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Melissa Webb.

On his second nationally distributed album, genuine cattle-punching cowboy Todd Fritsch has upped the level of polish just a bit, and 2007's Sawdust sounds decidedly more radio-ready than his self-titled 2005 release, which earned him some chart action for the song "Small Town Radio." But Fritsch's regular-guy personality shines through the slick spots on Sawdust, and along with his strong, easygoing vocal style, it's his greatest asset. Fritsch sounds right at home singing about pretty girls, broken hearts, honky tonkin', and what he does and doesn't like in country music, and he's clearly having a ball with the Bob Wills-style swing of "Five Mornings Down," the twangy two-step of "All That's Left Is You," and the proud celebration of his roots in "Texas Talking." On the other hand, the rock-oriented "If You Don't Like Country (Time to Leave)" (ironic title, that) doesn't fit him nearly as well (even if he did co-write it), and "The Rock," in which he sings from the point of view of a church, is a conceit that hardly anyone could bring off. But while Sawdust sometimes aims for the arenas, it works best when it generates a small-scale barroom ambience, and thankfully Fritsch and his musicians hit that target most of the time; the arrangements generate a natural honky tonk mood when they're on the beam, and even in its weaker moments Sawdust boasts a good-hearted sincerity that sets it apart from most of the guys with hats on country radio these days. ~ Mark Deming minimize