Dream Walkin' (Mercury, 1997)

Listening to Toby Keith's latest, it's no wonder he's already had three gold or platinum albums, along with10 top-10 hits. Keith's mellow, polished baritone, one of the best in country music, can make even a mediocre song sound good. Of the album's 11 tracks, Keith wrote or co-wrote eight.

As usual, Keith's at his best on romantic ballads, including "Yet" and "We Were In Love." But he also mixes in some typical good-ol'-boy, working-class songs such as "Double Wide Paradise" and "Jacky Don Tucker." Neither of these hit the mark as well as the humorous broken-heart tune, "She Ran Away with a Radio Clown." Keith does one traditional western swing number, "I Don't Understand My Girlfriend," one of the better tracks in the revival of the western swing style. Most surprising is "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying," written by, and performed with, Sting. He shows himself to be a good country songwriter. This tune could be a crossover hit.

Overall, this is a solid effort that should further establish Keith in the top tier of male country artists.