It's About Time (CD - 1999)

Personnel: Tracy Byrd (vocals); Billy Joe Walker Jr. (acoustic & electric guitars); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Larry Byrom, Brent Mason, Reggie Young (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Larry Franklin, Johnny Gimble, Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Bob Mason (cello); Wayne Toups (accordion); Matt Rollings (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer piano); John Jarvis (piano); Pat Coil, Steve Nathan (synthesizer); Glenn Worf (bass); Paul Leim (drums, washboard); Eddie Bayers (drums, percussion); Wes Hightower, John Wesley Ryles, Dennis Wilson, Curtis Young (background vocals).

Principally recorded at Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.

Tracy Byrd's seventh album, IT'S ABOUT TIME, marks the first time he's done things his way. It's the first album he's co-produced, and the first, he says, to include songs he really wanted to record, rather than songs he was told to. If that's true, IT'S ABOUT TIME reveals Byrd to be an artist who's moved far beyond ditties like "Watermelon Crawl."

Nearly every song he's chosen carries a strong emotional message. The lovely "Put Your Hand in Mine" is about a man who realizes there's still a chance to save his failing marriage, while in "It's About Time," the narrator realizes his family is more important than his career. The touching "A Little Love" tells the story of a lonely waitress hoping to be rescued by love. Byrd's voice has matured along with his material--his rich baritone deepens into a sexy growl that recalls Waylon Jennings on songs like "Can't Have One Without the Other" and "Love, You Ain't Seen the Last of Me." Byrd shows his lighter side on "Something to Brag About," a Cajun-flavored honky-tonkin' rave-up. IT'S ABOUT TIME is Byrd's first release for RCA, and it sounds like the change has done him good. minimize