Hillbilly Deluxe (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow (vocals); J.T. Corenflos (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Dan Dugmore (acoustic guitar, steel guitar); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin); Terry McBride (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Tom Bukovac, Larry Beaird, Bob DiPiero (acoustic guitar); Kenny Greenberg (electric guitar, National guitar); David Grissom, Troy Lancaster, Brent Mason (electric guitar); Russ Pahl, Scotty Sanders (steel guitar); Larry Franklin, Stuart Duncan (mandolin); Hank Singer (fiddle); Kix Brooks (harmonica, background vocals); Harvey Thompson (tenor saxophone); Jim Horn (baritone saxophone); Steven Herrman (trumpet); Charles Rose (trombone); Reese Wynans, Tony Harrell (piano, keyboards); John Hobbs, Bill Payne (piano); Greg Morrow (drums, percussion); Scott Williamson, Shannon Forrest (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Chip Davis, John Wesley Ryles, Kim Parent, Lisa Cochran, Ronnie Dunn, Wes Hightower, Perry Coleman, Kim Keyes (background vocals).

Additional personnel: Glenn Worf, Michael Rhodes (bass guitar); Eddie Bayers Jr. (drums); Dan Dugmore, Eric Darken, Kenny Greenberg, Stuart Duncan, J.T. Corenflos, Hank Singer, Bryan Sutton.

Audio Mixers: Ronnie Dunn; Jason Gantt; Jeff Kersey; Steve Marcantonio.

Recording information: Cyber Ranch; Emerald Entertainment's Tracking Room; Lobstar Studio; Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios; Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN; Starstruck Studios; Talent Shop Studios; The Rukkus Room; The Sound Kitchen, Nashville, TN; Tin Ear.

Photographer: Chapman Baehler.

Thanks to the newfound success of "real" country singers like Gretchen Wilson and Toby Keith, not to mention the neo-outlaw duo Big & Rich, Brooks & Dunn return to their Nashville roots on HILLBILLY DELUXE. After a string of increasingly pop-oriented albums, the change does them good. The first single, "Play Something Country," could be the best jukebox song since Alan Jackson's early-1990s hit "Don't Rock the Jukebox." From that opening track onwards, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks stick to the basics: broken hearts ("Her West Was Wilder" and "I May Never Get Over You") and broken bottles (on the tough-guy "Whiskey Do My Talkin'" and the celebratory "Just Another Neon Night"). They don't abandon their rock flirtations entirely--Sheryl Crow drops by on "Building Bridges," and the stomping title track edges towards Big & Rich territory --but HILLBILLY DELUXE is the most purely country album Brooks & Dunn have released since 1993's HARD WORKIN' MAN, and it's one of their most entertaining ever. minimize