Cowboy's Back in Town (Show Dog-Universal, 2010)

Trace Adkins' move to Toby Keith's Show Dog label has certainly brought out the macho in him. Much like Keith, Adkins sings a lot of songs here about being a real man's man. With Hell, I Can Do That, he speaks for every confident guy that's ever believed that the feats celebrities accomplish aren't really all that hard. He's also ready for a fight during both Whoop A Man's Ass and Hold My Beer.

Musically, Adkins rocks out on Brown Chicken Brown Cow and Ala-Freakin-Bana. And while the video for the quieter single, This Ain't No Love Song, way over sells the sex angle, it is doggone catchy when heard sans the scantily clad female visual images. Adkins is just such an effective vocalist that it makes him pleasant to listen to - even if you happen to be a skinny and nerdy guy. He also has a better sense of humor than Keith, which may be why he can get away with so much tough guy posturing.

Let's hope this doesn't set a trend for future Adkins recordings, however; the world certainly doesn't need a country music equivalent to Sylvester Stallone. Of course, it's probably useless to tell Adkins what to do because he's his own man. And hell, nobody else can do it like Adkins, anyhow.