Deuces (Blue Hat, 2007)

The Charlie Daniels Band's 13-song duets album is one of the more ecletic duets releases by any country artist. Daniels and his collaborators perform blues, rock, soul, folk, bluegrass and traditional country.

Daniels and Travis Tritt shine on Ray Charles' "What I'd Say," and he throws the audience on a cover with a blues-rock version of "Jackson," far different than the standard Johnny Cash-June Carter recorded. But the best tracks are the bluegrass collaborations on "Maggie's Farm" (Earl, Gary and Randy Scruggs), "Evangeline" (The Del McCoury Band) and the hard country "Daddy's Fiddle," featuring Dolly Parton and a nice fiddle intro. Daniels duets with Brenda Lee on the pop ballad "Let It Be Me" and jams with Brad Paisley on the instrumental tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, "Jammin' For Stevie."

Not all of the songs are covers. Daniels brings in Brooks & Dunn ("Long Haired Country Boy") and Montgomery Gentry ("Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye") to put a contemporary spin on a pair of classic hits.