Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 10/26/2004
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, All Music Guide
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