Blake Shelton (Warner Bros.)
With a straight-on country music approach, tales of truck-driving and hard drinking, and a voice that at times echoes Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Mel Tillis and Jimmy Buffett, Shelton's second album has a fun '70s feel to it. The Dreamer even includes a dandy cover of "Georgia in a Jug," originally recorded by Johnny Paycheck in 1978 and written by Shelton's producer Bobby Braddock. Traditionalist that Braddock is, he brings a down-on-the-farm authenticity to tunes like "In My Heaven," which bashes lawyers while saluting Hank Aaron. Such songs prove that Shelton's splendid 2001 self-titled debut was no freshman fluke.
BOTTOM LINE: A good-time throwback
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